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Commentary on Northern Ireland Crime Statistics 1993

NCJ Number
152370
Date Published
1994
Length
91 pages
Annotation
The 66,228 notifiable offenses recorded by the police in Northern Ireland during 1993 represented a 2 percent decrease in recorded crimes compared to 1992; theft remained the single largest offense group, comprising 50 percent of all recorded crimes.
Abstract
Variations in recorded crime types occurred between 1984 and 1993. Sex offenses increased by 139 percent, violent offenses against persons by 59 percent, and fraud and forgery by 78 percent. While burglary rose steadily between 1988 and 1992, the 1993 level fell by 8 percent over the previous year and was 30 percent below the 1984 level. The police cleared 24,088 notifiable offenses in 1993, 4,000 more than in 1984. The number of defendants processed in magistrate courts increased by 6 percent from 1992 to 1993. Summary and indictable offenses accounted for 13 and 26 percent, respectively, of all court business. Of defendants, 88 percent were adult males, 10 percent were adult females, and 2 percent were juveniles. The number of defendants processed in the Crown Court totaled 1,273 in 1993, the lowest number in over a decade. About 86 percent of defendants in magistrate courts and 72 percent of defendants in the Crown Court pleaded guilty in 1993. The most frequently used disposal in the Crown Court was immediate custody, whereas the most common disposal in magistrate courts was a fine. The number of juveniles sentenced for summary and indictable offenses declined steadily from 1,470 in 1986 to 725 in 1993. In 1993, the average daily prison population in Northern Ireland prisons totaled 1,934, a 7 percent decrease over the 1992 level of 1,810. The number of prison receptions, however, increased from 5,025 in 1992 to 5,191 in 1993. In 1993, 53 percent of those sentenced to immediate custody committed violent offenses against persons. Supplemental data are appended on notifiable and indictable offenses, Northern Ireland criminal courts, and sentences. 38 tables and 41 figures