§ 15. Mr. Sydney Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it the practice of his Department to collect and publish the numbers of incidents of thefts of wages and salaries by employees being taken to, from or at places of work, and the totals of amounts involved.
§ Mr. CarlisleThis is not practicable with existing statistical resources. My right hon. Friend will bear the suggestion in mind as it becomes possible to implement the recommendations of the Departmental Committee on Criminal Statistics, which he has already accepted in principle.
§ Mr. ChapmanDoes my hon. and learned Friend not agree that there has been an alarming increase in this type of crime in recent years? If it would do nothing else, would not publication of these figures lead more quickly to a round-table conference between the appropriate Government Departments, the banks and insurance companies, aimed at evolving schemes attractive to low-income groups involving bank or other credit systems which would thus stop what has become the increasing absurdity of taking money to and from place of work?
§ Mr. CarlisleThere has undoubtedly been an increase in robberies and wage-snatch offences, although I cannot give the figures. I agree with my hon. Friend that from a preventive point of view everything possible ought to be done to make such offences more difficult.