In 1997, 4.6 million notifiable offenses were recorded by the police, nearly 9 percent fewer than in 1996. Property crimes accounted for 91 percent of the total in 1997, amounting to 4.2 million crimes. Burglary fell by 13 percent and vehicle crime fell by 14 percent in 1997, compared to 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively, in 1996. Violent crime rose by only 1 percent in 1997 to 347,100 offenses, compared to 11 percent in 1996. Although the proportion of all notifiable offenses in which firearms were reported to have been used remained at 0.3 percent in 1997, the number of firearm offenses declined. Offenses involving firearms other than air weapons fell by 19 percent to 4,900, while those involving air weapons fell by 4 percent to 7,500. The crime clearance rate was 28 percent in 1997, 2 percent more than in 1996; this rate varied widely according to offense type and was highest for violent crimes, two-thirds of which were cleared. The number of arrests for all offenses reported by the 43 police forces in England and Wales totaled 1.92 million in 1997, compared to 1.75 million in 1996. About 1.7 million offenders were found guilty or cautioned in 1997, 3 percent fewer than in 1996. Receipts of cases in magistrate courts rose by 3 percent in 1997, having fallen by 2 percent in 1996. The average time from offense to completion for defendants in indictable cases in magistrate courts increased to 135 days in 1997 from 132 days in 1996. The proportionate use of the fine in magistrate courts for indictable offenses dropped by 1 percent to 35 percent between 1996 and 1997. The number of offenders receiving community sentences for indictable offenses in magistrate courts remained relatively stable between 1996 and 1997 at 29 percent. The number of people given immediate custody in all courts totaled 93,100, up 9 percent from 1996. Indictable offenses accounted for 74 percent of the increase in custodial sentences, with custody used for 23 percent of offenders aged 14 years or over who were sentenced in 1997, compared to 22 percent in 1996. The average population in custody in 1997 was 61,100, about 5,800 higher than in 1996. Appendixes contain supplemental crime statistics. References, tables, and figures