Why Prison Statistics Scotland, 2001 does not give statistics on the length of sentences imposed for crimes of indecency and what the avera…

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Individual crimes within crime groups such as "crimes of indecency" can vary widely in terms of seriousness and the length of imprisonment consequently imposed. The information on sentence length by crime published in the statistical bulletin Prisons Statistics Scotland, 2001 therefore presents the statistics for more specific crimes rather than aggregate information for crime groups.The published information has not given statistics on the average sentence length imposed for crimes with only a small number of receptions each year because individual cases could have had a distorting effect on the figures. Individual crimes of indecency fall into this category. In the light of this parliamentary question, however, the Executive will review this position ahead of the next publication of the statistical bulletins.The average sentence lengths imposed for those convicted of specific crimes of indecency in 2000 and 2001 are given in the table.Average Length of Sentence Imposed on Offenders Sentenced for Crimes of Indecency by Crime, 2000 and 2001 | Number of Receptions1 | Average Sentence Length in Years
Main crime/offence | 2000 | 2001 | 2000 | 2001
Rape | 25 | 43 | 6.21 | 7.20
Assault with intent to rape | 5 | 8 | 3.30 | 3.82
Indecent Assault | 29 | 22 | 2.71 | 2.40
Lewd and indecent behaviour | 95 | 119 | 1.94 | 2.36
Other indecency | 39 | 28 | 3.83 | 4.14
All crimes of indecency | 193 | 220 | |
Notes:1. The table excludes those who received a life sentence (3 in 2001)"