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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Breach of Restraining Order

Snapshot 3

Bringing together relevant statistics and trends relating to sentencing

by Annalena Wolcke

Published: 23 Jul 2025
Last updated: Jul 2025

Overview

  • Sentencing Council guideline range: fine to a 4-year prison sentence
  • Maximum sentence: 5-years’ imprisonment
  • Convictions decreased from over 9,000 in 2017 to 5,300 in 2023, but have increased again in the most recent year for which data is available (2024)
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Breach of Restraining Order, 2020-2024

  • Around 50% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.1
  • A further 19% resulted in a suspended sentence order.2

Figure 2: Sentences Imposed for Breach of Restraining Order, 2020-2024

  • Trends in the use of principal sanctions for breach of a restraining order have been relatively stable over the last 5 years.
  • Since 2022, the proportion of immediate custodial sentences has increased.
  • At the same time, the proportion of community orders and fines decreased.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Breach of Restraining Order, 2020–2024

  • The most frequent sentence range is between 3 to 6 months, accounting for over 30% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Approximately 22% of prison sentences are over 6 months.

Sentencing Outcomes by Sex

Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Breach of Restraining Order, 2020-2024

  • Female (n=1,849); Male (n=26,796)
  • Between 2020-2024, the custody rate for breach of an emergency order was higher for men (50%) than for women (33%).

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 a.wolcke@sentencingacademy.org.uk

  1. Data source for all figures: Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly December 2024, published 15th of May 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2024 ↩︎
  2. ‘Other sanctions’ include: absolute discharge and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎