Skip to content

Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Snapshot 15

Non-Domestic Burglary

Bringing together relevant statistics and trends relating to sentencing

by Annalena Wolcke

Last updated: Sep 2026

Overview

  • Sentencing Council guideline range: discharge to a 5-year prison sentence
  • Maximum sentence: 10-years’ imprisonment
  • Convictions have fluctuated over the last 10 years, with a low of under 4,300 convictions in 2021 and 2022 and a high of over 6,200 convictions in 2017
  • Convictions in 2025: 5,316
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Non-Domestic Burglary, 2021-2025

  • Over 50% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.1
  • A further 21% resulted in a Suspended Sentence Order.2

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

  • Trends in the use of principal sanctions for non-domestic burglary have largely been stable over the last 5 years.
  • The use of immediate custodial sentences increased by around 10% between 2021 and 2025.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Non-Domestic Burglary, 2025

  • The most frequent sentence range is up to 6 months, accounting for 60% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Approximately 40% of prison sentences are over 6 months.

Sentencing Outcomes by Sex

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

  • Female (n=270); Male (n=4,873)
  • In 2025, the custody rate for non-domestic burglary was higher for men (54%) than for women (35%).

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’ ↩︎