Possession of a Class A Drug
Snapshot 16
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 51-weeks prison sentence
- Maximum sentence: 7-years’ imprisonment
- Convictions for this offence have largely remained stable over the last 10 years
- This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years
Sentences Imposed
Figure 2: Sentences Imposed for Drug Possession (Class A), 2020-2024
- Trends in the use of principal sanctions for domestic burglary have largely been stable over the last 5 years.
Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths
Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Drug Possession (Class A), 2020–2024
- The most frequent sentence range is up to 1 month, accounting for over 60% of all immediate custodial sentences.
- Around 40% of prison sentences are over 1 month.
Sentencing Outcomes by Sex
Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Drug Possession (Class A), 2020-2024
- Female (n=4,457); Male (n=34,913)
- Between 2020-2024, the proportion of sentence outcomes for possession of a class A drug was similar for men and women.
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
- 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 ↩︎
- ‘Other sanctions’ include: absolute discharges and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎