The average tariff given to offenders receiving life sentences for murder, in England and Wales between 2005 to 2016 can be viewed in the table below. Information prior to 2005 is held in court records and not centrally, so could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Table 1: Average tariff(1) given to offenders receiving life sentences for murder, England and Wales, 2005 to 2016(2)(3). | | Year | Life sentences for murder(5) (average tariff, years) | | | 2005 | 16.0 | | 2006 | 17.6 | | 2007 | 16.3 | | 2008(4) | 18.9 | | 2009 | 18.3 | | 2010 | 19.2 | | 2011 | 19.3 | | 2012 | 20.6 | | 2013 | 21.2 | | 2014 | 20.7 | | 2015 | 21.2 | | 2016 | 21.3 | |
. = No automatic life sentence given or all tariff lengths missing Source: Court proceedings database (1) Averages exclude tariffs that are missing or whole life (recorded as ‘99 years’ in the data). (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Please note that there is variable completeness of recorded tariff length over the years, with lower completeness in certain years. (3) Data are given on a principal disposal basis - i.e. reporting the most severe sentence for the principal offence. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates' court for April, July and August 2008. (5) This includes all life sentences for murder. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. |