Norfolk police and crime commissioner Colin Sutton claimed on Times Radio that 80% of women in prison are there for non-violent reasons. However, Ministry of Justice data shows the opposite: as of March 2026, 58.2% of female prisoners were serving sentences for violent crimes.
The claim and the facts
Mr Sutton, a Reform UK PCC, made the remark on July 27 while discussing his proposal for an early release scheme targeting female prisoners. He said: “The fact is that something like 80% of women who are in the prison system there not for violent reasons.”
The most recent prison population data for England and Wales, from March 31 2026, shows 3,439 female prisoners. Of these, 2,002 (58.2%) were sentenced for offences that fall under a broad definition of violent crimes used by campaign group Prison Reform Trust. This includes violence against the person, robbery, weapons possession, sexual offences, and criminal damage or arson.
How many women enter prison for violent crimes?
Different MoJ data on prison receptions in 2025 shows that of 3,711 women given immediate custodial sentences that year, 1,191 (32.1%) were for violent offences. This means 67.9% of women sentenced to prison last year were non-violent offenders, a figure that has declined from around 80% before 2020.
Prison Reform Trust previously cited similar figures to Mr Sutton's claim but for women entering prison in a given year. In 2020, 72% of women entering prison under sentence had committed a non-violent offence, and in the year to June 2016 it was 84%. These figures do not reflect the overall prison population because violent crimes carry longer sentences, so those offenders accumulate over time.
Mr Sutton has been contacted for comment.
