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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Domestic Burglary

Snapshot 6

Bringing together relevant information, research findings and statistics relating to sentencing.

by Annalena Wolcke

Published: 14 Jul 2025
Last updated: Jul 2025

Overview

  • Sentencing Council guideline range: community order to a 6-year prison sentence
  • Maximum sentence: 14-years’ imprisonment
  • Section 314 of the Sentencing Act 2020 stipulates a minimum sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment for a third domestic burglary conviction
  • Convictions have fallen over the last 10 years (2015-2024)
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Domestic Burglary, 2020-2024

  • Over 70% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.1
  • A further 18% resulted in a suspended sentence order.2

Figure 2: Sentences Imposed for Domestic Burglary, 2020-2024

  • Trends in the use of principal sanctions for domestic burglary have been stable over the last 5 years.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Domestic Burglary, 2020–2024

  • The most frequent sentence range is between 1 to 3 years, accounting for over 60% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Approximately 24% of prison sentences are over 3 years.

Sentencing Outcomes by Sex

Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Domestic Burglary, 2020-2024

  • Female (n=1,519); Male (n=17,740)
  • Between 2020-2024, the custody rate for domestic burglary was higher for men (74%) than for women (50%).

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: fines, compensation, discharges, and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎