Crime
Majority of offenders, 80 per cent, are male
Offenders as a percentage of the population: by age, 2006, England and Wales
In 2006, 1.42 million offenders were sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. The majority of these offenders, 80 per cent, were male and of these 7 per cent were aged under 18.
Among males, the highest rate of offending for the most serious (indictable) criminal offences was among 17-year-olds at 6,116 offenders per 100,000 population of that age. The highest rate for females was among 15-year-olds (2,168 per 100,000 population). For male offenders in 2005, 15-year-olds received more cautions than any other age group while 19-year-olds received the most convictions. Among female offenders, 14 and 15-year-olds received the most cautions and the most common age to be convicted was 16.
Offenders found guilty of, or cautioned for, indictable offences, 2006
In 2006, males were more likely than females to be found guilty of, or cautioned for, crimes in all major crime categories. Between 82 and 94 per cent of all offenders in England and Wales found guilty of, or cautioned for, violence against the person, criminal damage, drug offences and robbery and burglary were male. Although the number of offenders was relatively small, 97 per cent of those found guilty of, or cautioned for, sexual offences were also male.
Theft was the most commonly committed offence by both men and women in England and Wales in 2006, with 50 per cent of female offenders found guilty of, or cautioned for, theft and handling stolen goods, compared with 30 per cent of male offenders. Overall, 71 per cent of theft-related offences were committed by men.
The British Crime Survey in 2007/08 showed that the risk of being a victim of violent crime was 3.2 per cent, although there were differences between men and women. Young men, aged 16 to 24, were most at risk, with 13.4 per cent experiencing a violent crime of some sort in the year preceding the interview, compared with 6.4 per cent of women of the same age. For both sexes, the risk of being a victim of violent crime decreased with age. For those aged 25 to 34, 5.7 per cent of men and 3.3 per cent of women were victims of violent crime in the previous year. For those aged 75 and over, the proportions fell to 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.
The type of violent incident experienced by victims of violent crime also varies by sex. In 2007/08, the number of domestic violence incidents experienced by women was five times greater than for men; 85 per cent of victims of this type of violence were women compared with 15 per cent who were men. However, men were more likely than women to be a victim of violence from strangers (78 per cent of victims were men) and violence from acquaintances (58 per cent were men).
Women were more than twice as likely as men to be worried about violent crime - 21 per cent of women compared with 8 per cent of men. Women aged 16 to 24 expressing the highest level of worry at 28 per cent. Women were also more likely than men to say that fear of crime had an impact on their quality of life; two-fifths of women and one-third of men reported that fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life.
Source: British Crime Survey, 2007/08, Home Office; Criminal Statistics, 2006, Ministry of Justice
Notes: For motoring offences, only persons found guilty are included: these offences may attract written warnings which are not included in this table.
Age 25 is plotted as the mid-point between ages 24 and 26, as is used for offenders who do not give an age.
All violence includes wounding, assault with minor injury, assault with no injury and robbery.
Domestic violence involves partners, ex-partners, household members or other relatives. Acquaintance violence is where the victim knew one or more of the offenders, at least by sight. Stranger violence is violence where the victim did not know any of the offenders in any way.
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