Annual update of statistics on counting new criminal offences created by government departments in England and Wales.

The report is released by the Ministry of Justice and produced in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority code of conduct.

New Criminal Offences, England and Wales – 1 June 2009 to 31 May 2011

Introduction

The Ministry of Justice committed in its 2011-2015 business plan to establish a gateway to scrutinise all legislation containing criminal offences. It also committed to publish annual figures as part of the planned information strategy.

This publication provides users with information concerning the activity of government departments in creating new criminal offences in England and Wales during the period 1st June 2010 to 30th May 2011, with comparison made to figures from the previous 12 months where available.

Main findings

Overview

In the 12 months ending May 2011 new criminal offences were contained in 33 pieces of legislation; this compares to 92 legislative provisions passed in the 12 months to May 2010.

From the 33 pieces of legislation 174 new criminal offences were created, a fall of 75.6 per cent on the previous total of 712 for the 12 months ending May 2010.

According to estimates based on data extracted from the Police National Legal Database, 155 offences were repealed in England and Wales in the 12 months ending May 2011. This compares to 569 offences repealed in the preceding 12 months to May 2010.

Table 1.1 Legistlation coming in to force and offences created by legislative vehicle and source, 1 June 2009 to 31 May 2011

The bulletin is produced and handled by the ministry's analytical professionals and production staff. Pre-release access of up to 24 hours is granted to the following persons:

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Criminal Justice; Permanent Secretary; Assistant Private Secretary to the Justice Secretary; Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Justice Secretary; Assistant Diary Secretary to the Justice Secretary; Private Secretary to Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Criminal Justice; Assistant Private Secretary to Permanent Secretary; Private Secretary to Lord Chief Justice; Special Advisers (SPADs); Director General, Corporate Performance Group; Director General, Criminal Justice Group; Director for Research & Analysis; Director for Criminal Law, Sentencing and Youth Policy; Director for Criminal Law and Legal Policy; Head of News; Chief Press Officer - Criminal Justice, Civil & Family Law and Legal Aid; Press Officers; Chief Statistician; Deputy Director – Criminal Law and Legal Policy Unit.