§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average custodial sentence imposed by the courts for robbery was in(a) the last six months of 2000 (b) the first six months of 2000 and (c) each of the previous four years. [149208]
§ Mr. Charles Clarke[holding answer 6 February 2001]: Available information, taken from the Home Offices court proceedings database, regarding the average custodial sentence imposed by the courts for robbery offences under S8 of the Theft Act 1968 for the period 1996 to 1999 and for the first half of 2000 (provisional data) is given in the table. Data for the second half of 2000 are not yet available. The offence of robbery carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The average custodial sentence (in months) imposed by type of court, and the numbers sentenced to life imprisonment at the
Crown court, for the offence of robbery, England and Wales, 1996
to 20001
Average sentence length (months) Year Sentenced at magistrates courts2 Sentenced at the Crown court3 Total number sentenced to life at the Crown court 1996 3.8 40.1 8 1997 3.7 40.9 4 1998 3.9 37.3 16 1999 3.7 37.3 37 20001 3.7 36.8 9 1 Data for 2000 are for the period 1 January to 30 June only and are provisional 2 Offenders aged 10 to 17 3 Excludes those offenders sentenced to life imprisonment