§ 26. Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the police force were convicted of corrupt practices in the course of their duty during 1967; and what proportion of the total police personnel is represented by this figure.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Elystan Morgan)I regret that this information could not be made available without a disproportionate expenditure of time and effort. In 1967, however, 80 officers were convicted of criminal offences of all kinds (other than traffic offences) committed both on and off duty, out of the total police strength of 91,043.
§ Mr. CordleWould the hon. Gentleman agree that these figures are evidence of the basic integrity of the police, and that the screening of television documentaries which provide an opportunity for social malcontents to give disproportionate publicity to these isolated exceptions is a handicap to the police in their efforts to reduce the crime rate in the country, and does not contribute to good will between the police and the public?
§ Mr. SpeakerQuestions must not be read.
§ Mr. MorganI certainly agree that this is clear evidence of the highest standards of integrity of our police. The figures which I have quoted show that a criminal offence is committed by less than one officer in every 1,000, or 0.09 per cent. The House might be interested to know that the number of males over 21 years of age convicted of criminal offences in 1967 as a percentage of the total was about 20 in 1,000, or 2 per cent.