HC Deb 02 December 1971 vol 827 cc630-1
7. Mr. Chapman

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of unlawful killings in England and Wales in each of the years 1961 to 1970, inclusive.

Mr. Maudling

I will, with permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT, a table giving figures for offences of murder, manslaughter, infanticide and child destruction known to the police in England and Wales.

Mr. Chapman

While I am obviously unable to comment on the figures before I see them, may I ask my right hon. Friend to give the widest publicity to those statistics and the breakdown under the category of unlawful killings so that those arguing for or against more extreme punishment for these serious crimes may have a greater acceptance among the public?

Mr. Maudling

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his reticence in supplementary questions. These are important matters. They are difficult figures to interpret sometimes, and I am anxious that they should be fully understood by and available to the public.

Murder (see note below) Manslaughter Infanticide Child Destruction
1961 … … … … 147 105 13 1
1962 … … … … 159 114 26 1
1963 … … … … 153 135 19 —
1964 … … … … 170 108 18 4
1965 … … … … 171 134 20 —
1966 … … … … 169 172 23 —
1967 … … … … 200 193 19 1
1968 … … … … 203 196 26 1
1969 … … … … 182 188 22 7
1970 … … … … 186 181 26 —
Note: The figures for murder are not those normally announced as "latest corrected" figures; for consistency with the figures for the other offences in the Table, account has not been taken of reductions resulting from court proceedings that took place after the year in which the murder became known to the police. Nor do the figures exclude any cases resulting in acquittal.