Recommendation 54

Damian Hinds MP argued that the apparent decline was the result of a change in the crime mix, with those offences which frequently attract a community sentence being less frequently committed, but nevertheless being penalised by a community sentence: “if you were to measure the number of community orders and suspended sentences per 100 domestic burglaries, say, you would not see a decline”. 82 The National Audit Office, however, told us that “data do not indicate that changes in the frequency of different offences explains the decline in community sentences”. They explained that: “For each type of offence, the proportion of sentences issued that were community sentences has decreased, with the exception of violence against the person, for which there was a small increase of one percentage point.” 83