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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Snapshot 6

Domestic Burglary

Bringing together relevant statistics and trends relating to sentencing

by Annalena Wolcke

Last updated: Aug 2026

Overview

  • Sentencing Council guideline range: community order to a 6-year prison sentence
  • Maximum sentence: 14-years’ imprisonment
  • Section 314 of the Sentencing Act 2020 stipulates a minimum sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment for a third domestic burglary conviction
  • Convictions have halved over the last 10 years, from over 7,600 convictions in 2015 to less than 3,900 in 2025
  • Convictions in 2025: 3,870
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Domestic Burglary, 2021-2025

  • Over 70% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.1
  • A further 18% resulted in a suspended sentence order.2

Figure 2: Sentences Imposed for Domestic Burglary, 2021-2025

  • Trends in the use of principal sanctions for domestic burglary have been relatively stable over the last 5 years.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Domestic Burglary, 2025

  • The most frequent sentence range is between 1 to 3 years, accounting for almost 60% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Approximately 23% of prison sentences are over 3 years.

Outcomes by Sex

Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Domestic Burglary, 2025

  • Female (n=318); Male (n=3,451)
  • In 2025, the custody rate for domestic burglary was higher for men (75%) than for women (46%).

These rates do not account for various factors that influence sentencing decisions, such as the offender’s criminal history and the seriousness of the specific offence. Additional research would be needed to determine whether gender affected the sentence imposed.

This Snapshot is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at [email protected]

  1. Data source for all figures: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2026), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, published 30th of April. Outcomes by offence data tool, Table 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2025. ↩︎
  2. ‘Other sanctions’ include: fines, compensation, discharges, and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎