Skip to content

Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Discharges

Key Facts and Statistics

by Raphael Freund & Annalena Wolcke

Last updated: Sep 2025

Download as Infographic

Fact 1

A discharge can either be

  • conditional (meaning that certain requirements are attached, and the individual could be sentenced for the original offence if they re-offend), or
  • absolute (without conditions)

Conditional discharges are more common, making up

90%

of all discharges

Fact 2

Discharges are usually given for the least serious offences. A discharge means that the person is released from court without further action.

29,708

INDIVIDUALS RECEIVED A DISHCARGE IN 2024,

OF WHICH 26,750 WERE CONDITIONAL,

AND 2,985 WERE ABSOLUTE1

Fact 3

Discharges make up

3%

of all primary
sentences imposed in
England & Wales

Fact 4

Absolute and conditional discharges are most commonly associated with different kinds of offences.

Top 5 offences leading to
CONDITIONAL discharges		Individuals
sentenced in 2024
1. Theft from a shop4,851
2. Criminal or malicious damage offence2,229
3. Possession of a controlled drug – Class B (cannabis)2,104
4. Common assault and battery2,014
5. Assault of an emergency worker1,194

Fact 5

Top 5 offences leading to
ABSOLUTE discharges		Individuals
sentenced in 2024
1. Vehicle insurance offences – summary695
2. Vehicle registration and excise license offences234
3. Possession of a controlled drug – Class B (cannabis)148
4. Truancy143
6. Other railway offences125

Fact 6

of all women

and

of all men

sentenced in 2024 received a discharge

Fact 7

Re-offending rates

For all sentences: 27%2

For discharges: 27%

For prison sentences: 39%

For court orders (suspended sentence and community): 34%

Note: The MoJ defines reoffending as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period that leads to a court conviction, caution, reprimand, or warning.

Download this infographic as PDF

This infographic is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at a.wolcke@sentencingacademy.org.uk

  1. Facts 1-6: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2025), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2024, published 15th of May. Outcomes by offence data tool, Table 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2024. ↩︎
  2. Fact 7: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2025). Proven reoffending statistics: October to December 2023, published 30th of October. Proven reoffending tables (3 monthly), October 2023 to December 2023, Table C1a.
    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-october-to-december-2023. ↩︎