There were 1,948,000 completed prosecutions in magistrates' courts in 1994, about the same as in 1993. Increases for indictable and summary nonmotoring offenses were balanced by a decrease for summary nonmotoring offenses. A total of 88,000 defendants were tried at the Crown Court, 6 percent higher than in 1993, reflecting the increase in indictable prosecutions and an increased number of Crown Court sitting days. There were 71,900 known offenders found guilty or cautioned for drug offenses in 1994, 26 percent higher than in 1993. The average sentence length for males aged 21 and over sentenced at the Crown Court increased for most indictable offense groups in 1994, although the average overall decreased to 21.6 months compared to 21.8 months in 1993. The number of offenders given immediate custody for all offenses was 68,500, the highest figure since 1987. A total of 308,000 offenders were cautioned for all offenses in 1994, 1 percent less than in 1993. Following the latest Home Office Circular on cautioning, there was a decrease in the numbers cautioned for indictable-only offenses and a decrease in the proportion of offenders cautioned who had previous cautions. The proportionate use of the fine at magistrates' courts stabilized in the second half of 1994 at around 38 percent, having decreased during the preceding 18 months. The proportionate use of community sentences for indictable offenses in the magistrates' courts increased by 3 percentage points to 27 percent in 1994, but fell slightly to 33 percent in the Crown Court. 18 tables and 7 figures