HL Deb 03 August 1971 vol 323 cc999-1000

2.41 p.m.

LORD SEGAL

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many thefts of car radios were reported during each of the last three years.]

THE MINISTER OF STATE, HOME OFFICE (LORD WINDLESHAM)

My Lords, I regret that the statistics at present collected do not provide this information. I can, however, say that the number of offences of stealing from all types of vehicle known to the police decreased in 1970.

LORD SEGAL

My Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that somewhat negative information, may I also ask him whether he can, nevertheless, say how many prosecutions have occurred for thefts from cars and how many convictions have followed?

LORD WINDLESHAM

My Lords, I do not have those figures with me, but I can send them to the noble Lord. What I can give him, which I think will be of interest to the House, is the incidence of thefts reported to the police over the last three years. In 1968 the total was 188,000; in 1969 it was 176,000, and in 1970 it was 175,000. The clear-up rate—that is, the number of cases the police have been able to clear up—has been increased. Of course the success rate here is marked by the fact that the number of vehicles on the roads has been increasing in each of those three years, so that although the numbers are still large the trend is quite an encouraging one.

LORD SEGAL

My Lords, as these thefts are still very prevalent, would it not be worth while for the Government to attempt to categorise them to ascertain how many cases of thefts of car radios have occurred? Also, are Her Majesty's Government aware of the location of second-hand markets in car radios: and how far have they been successful in tracking down the receivers of this type of goods?

LORD WINDLESHAM

My Lords, the current statistics do not distinguish between thefts of car radios and other thefts from vehicles. The classifications are based on the legal definition of the offence, which is theft, rather than on the article which is stolen. Again, I should like to consider the second half of the noble Lord's supplementary question and to write to him. I am sure I can give him for the Metropolitan Police District—I do not know whether I shall be able to do it for the whole country—the number of prosecutions and the number of successful convictions.