Accredited official statistics

First time entrants (FTE) and Offender Histories: 2024

Published 15 May 2025

Applies to England and Wales

1. Contents

Main points

Statistican’s comment

Long criminal careers

First time offenders

Offence type by criminal history

Personal characteristics

Further information

Future publications and contact details

This publication provides an overview of trends in first time entrants into the Criminal Justice System and Offender Histories in England and Wales.

2. Main points

Point	Change	Commentary
The proportion of adult offenders convicted for an indictable offence with long criminal careers was 35% in 2024, a 2 percentage point increase since 2023.	Increase	In year ending December 2024, the proportion of adult offenders convicted for an indictable offence with long criminal careers (15 or more previous cautions or convictions) was 35%. This is a 2 percentage point increase compared to the years 2021 to 2023 (33%) but down compared to the years 2014 to 2020 (where it was between 36% and 39%).
The proportion of the offenders convicted for an indictable offence who are first time offenders[footnote 1] has decreased 1 percentage point since 2023.	Decrease	In 2024, 17% of offenders convicted for an indictable offence were first-time offenders. The proportion increased every year from 2014 to 2023, decreasing 1 percentage point in 2024. The 2024 proportion is 7 percentage points higher than in 2014.
The proportion of juvenile offenders convicted for an indictable offence who were first time offenders has increased since 2014.	Increase	47% of juvenile offenders convicted for an indictable offence in 2024 were first-time offenders. This proportion has increased 26 percentage points since 2014.
The proportion of offenders cautioned or convicted for an indictable offence in 2024 with at least one prior caution or conviction was 79%, 1 percentage point higher than 2023.	Increase	79% of offenders had at least one prior caution or conviction in 2024, this a 1 percentage point increase since 2023 but a decrease of 2 percentage points from 2014 (81%).

3. Statistician’s comment

The proportion of adult offenders convicted for an indictable offence with long criminal careers (15 or more previous cautions or convictions) was 35% in 2024. This is a 2 percentage point increase compared to the years 2021 to 2023 (33%) but down compared to the years 2014 to 2020, where between 36% and 39% of adult offenders convicted for an indictable offence had long criminal careers.

The proportion of the offenders convicted for an indictable offence who are first time offenders has decreased 1 percentage point since 2023. In 2024, 17% of offenders convicted for an indictable offence were first-time offenders. The proportion increased every year from 2014 to 2023, decreasing 1 percentage point in 2024. The 2024 proportion is 7 percentage points higher than in 2014.

79% of offenders had at least one prior caution or conviction for an indictable offence in 2024, this a 1 percentage point increase since 2023 but a decrease of 2 percentage points from 2014 (81%).

4. Long criminal careers

In year ending December 2024, the proportion of adult offenders convicted for an indictable offence with long criminal careers (15 or more previous cautions or convictions) was 35%. This is a 2 percentage point increase compared to the years 2021 to 2023 (33%) but down compared to the years 2014 to 2020, where between 36% and 39% of adult offenders convicted for an indictable offence had long criminal careers. In 2024, immediate custody was the most likely outcome (43%) for those convicted of an indictable offence with a long criminal career.

Figure 1: Proportion of offenders convicted for indictable offences by previous criminal history, December 2014 to December 2024 (Source: Criminal History Pivot tool - Q4 2024)

5. First time offenders^{[footnote 1]}

There were around 65,700 first-time offenders convicted in 2024. This represents 22% of all offenders, an increase of 6 percentage points compared to 2014 but similar levels to 2023. Despite the increase in proportion, the number of convicted first time offenders since 2014 has decreased by 11%, from around 74,000.

There were around 30,200 first-time offenders convicted of an indictable offence in 2024, an increase of 9% compared to 2023. However, whilst the number of first-time offenders has increased, the proportion has remained stable (between 17% and 18%).

The number of juvenile first-time offenders convicted of an indictable offence in 2024 was around 3,700. It was around 4,100 in 2014.

In the same period, the proportion of juvenile offenders convicted of an indictable offence who were first-time offenders has increased (from 22% to 47%). This is due to a 65% decrease in the total number of distinct juvenile offenders (from around 25,200 to around 8,900), meaning that whilst the number of juvenile first-time offenders has remained broadly stable, the proportion of juvenile offenders they represent has increased.

Figure 2: Proportion of juvenile offenders convicted for an indictable offence by previous criminal history, December 2014 to December 2024 (Source: Criminal History Pivot tool - Q4 2024)

6. Offence type by criminal history

In 2024, first time offenders convicted of an indictable offence were most often convicted for drug offences (23%) and violence against the person and miscellaneous crimes against society offences (both 17%). This trend has remained broadly stable since 2019, with on average around 20% of first-time offenders being convicted for violence offences and an average of around 22% for drug offences. There has been a change in this trend since 2014, when drug and violence offences accounted for 14% and 13% respectively.

In contrast, offenders convicted of an indictable offence in 2024 with a long criminal career were most often convicted of theft offences, with 52% being convicted for this type of offence. This continues a long-term trend, with theft offences accounting for most offences committed by offenders with a long criminal career since 2014.

7. Personal characteristics

Males accounted for 86% of all offenders cautioned or convicted for an indictable offence in 2024, this proportion has remained stable in the last ten years between 83% and 86%. In contrast, the proportion of all offenders that juveniles accounted for has fallen by a third since 2014, from 9% to 6%.

Around 1 in 7 first-time offenders in 2024 were adult females (14%), with adult males accounting for the majority (69%). Since 2014 the proportion of adult females has fallen 8 percentage points, and the male proportion has increased 11 percentage points.

Adult offenders were more likely than juvenile offenders to receive a conviction in 2024; 89% of adult sentencing occasions resulted in a conviction, compared to 72% of juvenile sentencing occasions.

8. Further information

The data presented in this publication are provisional and updated in each publication. Figures provided for more recent years are subject to change in future publications as ongoing cases pass through the Criminal Justice System.

A technical guide providing further information on how the data is collected and processed can be found on our website.

8.1 Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• ODS format tables containing data on first time entrants into the Criminal Justice System and Offender Histories in England and Wales up to December 2024.

• An interactive pivot tool containing data on the number of all offenders cautioned or sentenced for indictable and summary offences, by previous criminal history, offence type, age group, officer identified ethnicity, officer identified sex, disposal category and disposal type, from December 2014 to December 2024.

• An interactive pivot tool containing data on the latest offence for offenders cautioned or sentenced by first and all previous offences, offence type, disposal category and disposal type, from December 2014 to December 2024.

• An interactive pivot tool containing data on the number of First Time Entrants by offence type, age group, officer identified ethnicity, officer identified sex, disposal category and disposal type, from December 2014 to December 2024.

• An interactive Sankey diagram looking at outcomes for offenders cautioned or convicted by previous offending history, age group, officer identified sex and offence group, from December 2014 to December 2024.

• A technical guide providing further information on how the data is collected and processed.

• The pre-release access list for this publication.

8.2 Official Statistics status

Accredited Official Statistics have been independently reviewed by OSR and confirmed to comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

You can contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.

Alternatively, you can contact the OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

9. Future publications

Next update: May 2026

Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or changes in content. We are planning to discontinue the Sankey diagram from the next release (May 2026) and are looking at new ways of improving our visualisation tools. If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please contact us at the contact section below.

9.1 Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice Enquiries Team.

Other enquiries about, or feedback on, these statistics should be directed to the Data and Analysis division of the Ministry of Justice:

Sasha King,
Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
London,
SW1H 9AJ

Email: MOJPNCteam@justice.gov.uk

© Crown copyright Produced by the Ministry of Justice. Alternative formats are available on request from MOJPNCteam@justice.gov.uk

1. First time offenders refers to offenders with no previous cautions or convictions. This count differs from First Time Entrants (FTEs) because all offenders prosecuted by an English or Welsh police force, irrespective of country of residence, are included. ↩ ↩²