Short custodial disposals from court and the prison population

Of around 5,400 people receiving custodial sentences of 12 months or less in 2023:

• 41% were already in prison in the remand population and moved into the sentenced population at the time of their new sentence.
• 30% were already in prison having been sentenced for a previous offence and remained there at the time of their new sentence.
• 20% arrived in prison from the community at the time of their sentence.
• 7% were released to the community from the remand population (likely because they had already served the length of their sentence whilst on remand) at the time of their sentence.

Of the 5,400 short custodial sentences imposed by courts, around 25% relate to people who received more than one short sentence throughout the year.

The offending background of the 5,400 people receiving custodial sentences of 12 months or less from court is varied and complex. This cohort includes people who have been sentenced for previous offences, have spent time on remand and people who have outstanding offences which have yet to be tried. The effect of these factors is that people may not simply be serving short sentences in isolation, and that other considerations such as time spent on remand and existing sentences complicate this picture.