First Time Entrants to the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland 2024/25 published
Date published:
The Department of Justice has published the official statistics publications ‘First Time Entrants to the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland 2024/25’.
This latest bulletin on first-time entrants (or disposals relating to first offences) to the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland provides analysis of first offences in 2024/25, including breakdowns by age, gender, offence category and disposal type. The key findings are as follows:
OVERALL
- In 2024-25, 28,188 offences were recorded as dealt with by conviction or diversion in the justice system in Northern Ireland. Of these, 26.3% (7,409) were first offences. The comparative figure for 2023-24 was 26.5%.
- Of first offences, 23.5% (1,742) were dealt with by formal diversionary disposal and 76.5% (5,667) by conviction.
Age Group and Gender
- Of all first-time entrants in 2024-25, 8.1% (599) were aged 10 to 17 and 22.5% (1,665) were aged 30 to 39.
- Those in the age range 10 to 17 were most likely (85.6%, 513 out of 599) to receive a diversion for a first offence.
- Of all offences committed by males1 and dealt with by conviction or diversion, 23.4% (5,141) were first offences; the comparative figure for females was 36.8% (2,268).
- 1 Figures for males also include organisations, transgender and gender not specified.
Offence Type and Disposals Received
- Over half, 60.3% (4,464) of all first offences in 2024-25 were motoring offences. Of all instances where a conviction or diversion was issued for offences in this category, 38.0% were for first offences.
- Monetary disposals made up 61.4% (4,551) of all disposals for first offences in 2024-25. First offences accounted for 34.0% of all instances where a monetary penalty was imposed in relation to a conviction or diversion. Of all instances where imprisonment was imposed as a penalty, first offences accounted for only 5.7% (202 out of 3,573).
- 48.1% (1,742) of all cases dealt with by diversion were for first offences. Of first offences dealt with by diversion, 73.3% (1,277) were dealt with by way of caution. However, while 47.2% of all cautions were for first offences, 84.7% (205) of all informed warnings issued were for first offences.
Notes to editors:
- This bulletin presents information on first time entrants (first offences) to the criminal justice system disaggregated by age, gender, offence category and disposal type for 2024/25.
2. The data used in this bulletin were taken from the Causeway Data Sharing Mechanism (DSM1). They were extracted primarily based on records contained on the Criminal Records Viewer (CRV). The CRV is held on Causeway and utilises data which originated in the PSNI, PPS and from Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service. Causeway is an interconnected information system, launched as a joint undertaking by the Criminal Justice Organisations (CJOs) in Northern Ireland.
3. Figures for first time entrants to the justice system in Northern Ireland, as reported in this bulletin, are based on those who have had a conviction at any time since 1960 and those who had either a conviction or a diversionary disposal since the implementation of the Causeway system DSM1, in December 2009. This means that the reported rate of first offences may be slightly higher than the actuality, as, in some cases, first offences would have been dealt with by means of diversionary disposal, information on which is not available prior to the introduction of DSM1. However, any likely impact should lessen with the passing of time. Reoffending statistics suggest that, in most crime categories, persons who commit a proven reoffence do so within one year. As a result, the first year when it might be considered that the effect of diversions data being unavailable for the period prior to 2010 might be reduced, is 2011/12 and data in this series are available from that point forward. Data for the 2025/26 year will be published in summer 2027.
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7. The bulletin will be available in PDF format from either the Statistics and Research section of this website or Analytical Services Group, Financial Services Division, Block C, Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 3SG
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