The statistics in this volume relate to criminal offenses recorded by the 43 police forces in England and Wales and to offenders dealt with by formal police cautions, reprimands or warnings, or criminal court proceedings. The police recorded 5.3 million notifiable offenses in 1999/00, an increase of 3.8 percent over 1998/99. Since 1979, recorded crime has risen by 83 percent. An estimated 1.3 million arrests for notifiable offenses were made in 1999/00. Also, 1.7 million offenders were found guilty or cautioned, 5 percent fewer than in 1998. A total of 266,100 offenders were cautioned, including 6,300 juveniles who were given reprimands or final warnings in Crime and Disorder Acts pilot areas. The proportionate use of community sentences for indictable offenses at magistrates' courts remained at 29 percent for the fourth successive year. The position was also relatively stable in the Crown Court, with use at 27 percent. The number of people given immediate custody at all courts was 105,400, up 5 percent from 1998 and the highest figure since at least 1928. The average population in custody in 1999 was 64,770, a reduction of 1 percent from 1998, when the prison population (65,300) was greater than in any previous year. Figures, tables, references, appendixes