4. Characteristics of the 2003-04 cohort
4.1 Table 1 below provides some background information on this cohort of 46,918 offenders. Of this total, 84 per cent were male; 24 per cent were aged under 21; 25 per cent had a violent crime and 24 per cent had a breach of the peace as their index crime; 33 per cent had no previous convictions while 17 per cent had over 10; and 76 per cent had no previous custodial convictions while 4 per cent had over 10.
Table 1: Persons released from a custodial sentence or given a non-custodial sentence in 2003-04
Numbers and percentage by age, sex, index disposal, index crime and number of previous convictions (1)
| Total number | Percentage |
|---|
Persons (=100%) | 46,918 | 100 |
|---|
Age |
|
|---|
Under 21 | 11,324 | 24 |
|---|
21 to 25 | 10,326 | 22 |
|---|
26 to 30 | 7,247 | 15 |
|---|
Over 30 | 18,021 | 38 |
|---|
Sex |
|
|---|
Males | 39,451 | 84 |
|---|
Females | 7,467 | 16 |
|---|
Index disposal in 2003-04 |
|
|---|
Discharged from custody | 5,832 | 12 |
|---|
Community Service | 2,518 | 5 |
|---|
Probation | 4,468 | 10 |
|---|
Monetary | 26,707 | 57 |
|---|
Other | 7,393 | 16 |
|---|
Index crime |
|
|---|
Violent crime | 11,783 | 25 |
|---|
Sexual crime | 466 | 1 |
|---|
Dishonesty | 10,882 | 23 |
|---|
Criminal damage | 3,520 | 8 |
|---|
Drugs offences | 5,522 | 12 |
|---|
Breach of Peace | 11,422 | 24 |
|---|
Other crimes and offences | 3,323 | 7 |
|---|
Number of previous convictions |
|
|---|
None | 15,586 | 33 |
|---|
1 or 2 | 10,796 | 23 |
|---|
3 to 10 | 12,778 | 27 |
|---|
Over 10 | 7,758 | 17 |
|---|
Number of previous custodial convictions |
|
|---|
None | 35,810 | 76 |
|---|
1 or 2 | 4,554 | 10 |
|---|
3 to 10 | 4,494 | 10 |
|---|
Over 10 | 2,060 | 4 |
|---|
Number of previous community convictions (2) |
|
|---|
None | 31,743 | 68 |
|---|
1 or 2 | 9,429 | 20 |
|---|
3 to 10 | 5,480 | 12 |
|---|
Over 10 | 266 | 1 |
|---|
1. Convictions since start of 1989
2. Convictions resulting in probation or community service