Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the clear-up rate for murder for each police authority for each of the last five years.
§ Mr. HurdIn cases of homicide it is not possible in the absence of a court decision to distinguish between offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide. The following table gives for all offences of homicide total figures for the years 1978 to 1982 because annual figures are subject to wide variation and can be misleading. This is because of the relatively small number of offences involved and because offences cleared up in one year may have been recorded in a previous year.
191W
Offences of homicide recorded by the police, 1978–82 England and Wales Number of offences Clear up rate† Polce force area recorded cleared up (per cent.) Avon and Somerset 47 44 94 Bedfordshire 28 26 93 Cambridgeshire 25 24 96 Cheshire 46 45 98 Cleveland 36 36 100 Cumbria 25 24 96 Derbyshire 34 33 97 Devon and Cornwall 57 56 98
Number of offences Clear up rates† Polce force area recorded cleared up (per cent.) Dorset 27 25 93 Durham 24 23 96 Essex 76 74 97 Gloucestershire 19 17 89 Greater Manchester 140 137 98 Hampshire 63 62 98 Hertfordshire 36 34 94 Humberside 80 75 94 Kent 58 55 95 Lancashire 79 76 96 Leicestershire 32 30 94 Lincolnshire 21 20 95 London, City of 2 1 50 Merseyside 110 108 99 Metropolitan Police District 824 728 88 Norfolk 24 24 100 Northamptonshire 43 36 84 Northumbria 62 61 98 North Yorkshire 33 33 100 Nottinghamshire 58 57 98 South Yorkshire 56 55 98 Staffordshire 36 33 92 Suffolk 12 11 92 Surrey 17 16 94 Sussex 65 63 97 Thames Valley 85 84 99 Warwickshire 26 26 100 West Mercia 26 27 *104 West Midlands 207 201 97 West Yorkshire 152 145 95 Wiltshire 18 16 89 Dyfed-Powys 17 17 100 Gwent 35 34 97 North Wales 33 33 100 South Wales 64 65 *102 England and Wales 2,958 2,790 94 * Offences cleared up in the period may have been recorded in a previous year. † The ratio of offences cleared up in the period to offences recorded in the period.
Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the homicides in each district of the Metropolitan police area for each of the last five years showing the method used and whether or not it was cleared up.
§ Mr. MellorWe shall reply as soon as possible.
Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the total of murders, manslaughters and infanticides in 1981 given in the report of the Commisioner of Police of the Metropolis is greater than the figure for homicides for that year in his parliamentary answer to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras on 11 July, Official Report, c. 212.
§ Mr. MellorThe report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis showed 130 offences recorded as homicide in 1981. The reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) on 11 July — [Vol. 45, c. 212] — referred to 114 offences currently recorded as homicide in 1981 in the Metropolitan police district and excluded offences which had subsequently been decided by the police or the courts not to be homicide.
Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many of the homicides committed in 192W London in each of the last five years the victim and principal suspect were acquainted; and what was the nature of the relationship.
§ Mr. MellorThe information which can be provided within the time available is given in the following table:
Offences of homicide* in the Metropolitan police district in 1981 in which the victim was acquainted with the suspect Relationship of victim to suspect Number of offences Son or daugher 8 Parent 1 Spouse, cohabitant or former spouse or cohabitant 17 Other family 2 Lover or former lover† 9 Friend or acquaintance 24 Other associate 4 Total 65 * As at 1 June 1983; figures are subject to revision as cases of homicide are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. † Includes spouse's lover or lover's spouse.