§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked he Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish in the Official Report a detailed statement giving for the longest and most convenient stated period of time the number of robbings of the person with violence, known as "muggings", in the London borough of Newham how many of these victims were admitted to hospital and died; and to what extent those concerned have been apprehended and charged with these offences and with what results.
§ Dr. Summerskill"Mugging" is a term with no legal definition. The legally defined offences of robbery and assault with intent to rob recorded as known to the police as having occurred in the London borough of Newham are shown in the following table:
OFFENCES OF ROBBERY AND ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO ROB, RECORDED AS KNOWN TO THE POLICE LONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM Year No. of Offences 1968 69 1969 78 1970 100 1971 118 1972 132 1973 108 1974 100 1975 158 Comparable statistics are not available before 1968. The figures given include robberies of personal property following sudden attack in the open; they also include other types of robbery. Some offences classified in the Criminal Statistics as "theft from the person of another" may involve some degree of violence; such offences are not included in the table.
I regret that information about the number of victims admitted to hospital and the numbers, if any, who died is not readily available.
188WInformation about the extent to which those responsible for the offences given in the table above have been apprehended and charged, and about the results of subsequent prosecutions, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.