Method of finalisation

The most common method of finalisation in 2012–13 was guilty plea, representing 70% of all finalised defendants (394,537 defendants). This group made up the majority of the 487,848 defendants who were proven guilty. The proportion of defendants acquitted was 3%, with another 8% having their cases withdrawn by prosecution.

Younger defendants were more likely to enter a guilty plea than older defendants, with three-quarters (75%) of defendants aged under 20 years entering such a plea, compared to two-thirds (66%) of those aged 55 years and over. Both males and females aged 55 years and over were most likely to be acquitted (4%) compared to other age groups. (Table 4)