Hoax Calls: Penalties (Hansard, 5 March 1991)

The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)
My Lords, within the maximum powers given by Parliament the sentencing of offenders who are convicted of bomb hoaxes is a matter for the courts. It is not for the Government to advise them how to exercise that discretion.

§ Lord Taylor of Blackburn
My Lords, I am sure that every Member of the House would like to wish the noble Earl well now that he is back in his place on the Front Bench. We are delighted to see him. However, his Answer is surely not good enough. In view of the inconvenience caused by hoaxers, could not the Government instruct magistrates to pass the highest possible term of imprisonment on these people?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I am grateful for the noble Lord's kind remarks. On my first day back yesterday I was told that I would be answering a Question today and I am bound to say that I thought it was a hoax. The advice that I gave to my private secretary was not the same as the advice that the Government give to magistrates' courts. The Government cannot give advice to magistrates. It is up to them to do what they will in the light of the circumstances which obtain. I 1305 agree that hoax calls cause appalling frustration, are a terrible waste of time and are far from amusing to anyone other than those who make them. However, to put the matter into perspective, the noble Lord may like to know that in the 24 hours following the Paddington and Victoria bomb incidents on Monday 18th February there were 79 hoax calls.

§ Baroness Phillips
My Lords, is the noble Earl able to say what charge is made against hoax callers in that they receive sentences of only three months' duration? Many of us, if we were sitting on the bench, would ensure that they received 30 years.

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, in all cases which are triable either way the magistrates must decide whether to accept jurisdiction or whether the case is suitable for trial in the Crown Court. In one year of the cases which came before magistrates 12 received custodial sentences; in the Crown Court eight received custodial sentences. The maximum penalty on summary conviction in the magistrates' court is three months' imprisonment or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum of £2,000. After conviction in the Crown Court the maximum sentence is five years' imprisonment or an unlimited fine. Bomb or other hoaxers can be charged also with the offence of wasting police time under Section 55(1) of the Criminal Justice Act. That is a summary offence and the maximum penalties are six months' imprisonment and a fine of £1,000.

§ Lord Williams of Elvel
My Lords, will the noble Earl accept that we welcome his presence back at the Dispatch Box? That is not a hoax. We also welcome the fact that he deplores these calls which disrupt everyone's life, particularly in the metropolis. Can he tell the House whether there are any techniques available to the police, or any other body, for trying to stop these incidents happening? Can he also say whether it is possible to determine which call is a hoax and which is genuine? At the moment we seem to have a great many mainline stations shut in London when these calls are received. I do not see how one can detect which call is genuine and which is a hoax, but I shall be grateful if the noble Earl can help me on that matter.

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Williams, for saying that he welcomes my presence on these Benches. However, I do not particularly welcome the noble Lord's questions because I have come to learn that they are usually quite difficult. In a way this question is of a similar character. It would be wrong for me to say how the police determine between a hoax call and a genuine one. In the right circumstances the police can trace a call. They can send a fast response vehicle to the location and catch the caller before the call is over. Calls which are made through the 999 number can be traced relatively swiftly, especially if they are handled by a modern digital exchange mechanism.

§ Lord Harris of Greenwich
My Lords, is the noble Earl aware that a sentence of three months' imprisonment means in reality six weeks' imprisonment? Given that, and the fact that his right honourable friend Mr. Patten indicated that the 1306 Government will be reconsidering the maximum penalty for this offence, what has the noble Earl to tell us about that?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, magistrates' courts have the power to give a sentence of three months' imprisonment. What that turns out to be in practice is for the courts of law to decide. My right honourable friend Mr. Patten recently undertook to consider the case for increasing the maximum punishment available at the magistrates' courts. He is considering that at present.

§ Lord Donaldson of Kingsbridge
My Lords, has the noble Earl any information as to the background of the people who have been caught making these calls? Is there an international background—perhaps Iraqi or Irish—to any of them? It will be interesting to learn whether that is so.

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I do not believe that there is any particular pattern to the nationality of the people who have made these hoax calls. One offender who was recently given a three months' prison sentence was an Irishman.