The statistics available through the prosecuted people and convicted offenders tables are based on people prosecuted and/or convicted in a calendar year.
Sometimes one person may be prosecuted or convicted in court several times within a year. That person will only be counted once.
People are counted and identified by an identifier, issued by either the Police or the Courts. Within a calendar year, the most serious charge (with the most serious outcome or penalty) is used to denote the person.
It is possible that a particular person may have multiple identities and aliases. Such people could be counted more than once within a calendar year.
People statistics provide an indication of the level of criminality in the population, rather than the actual level of crime in the country.