§ Mr. Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the number of prosecutions for importuning in the street which have been brought in each of the last five years in (a) the Metropolitan police district and (b) the rest of England and Wales; and in how many of these cases the prosecution's evidence was supported in court by the offended man or woman.
§ Mr. MellorThe available information is given in the following table. Corresponding information for 1984 is not yet available. Information collected centrally on court proceedings does not include details of how the prosecution evidence was presented.
Persons proceeded against for offences of importuning under section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 or section 1 of the Street Offences Act 1959 by area.
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England and Wales Number of persons Year and Area Section 32 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 1 Street Offences Act 1959 1980 Metropolitan police district 384 1,559 Other forces 931 1,941 England and Wales 1,315 3,500 1981 Metropolitan police district 317 2,046 Other forces 685 2,299 England and Wales 1,002 4,345 1982 Metropolitan police district 308 3,225 Other forces 611 2,842 England and Wales 919 6,067
Year and Area Section 32 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 1 Street Offences Act 1959 1983 Metropolitan police district 337 5,611 Other forces 494 5,058 England and Wales 831 10,669
§ Mr. Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the most recent guidance which he has given to the police for dealing with the arrest of men suspected of importuning.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis issued a force order in October 1984 to give greater prominence in the context of plain clothes operations to the existing principle laid down in paragraph 1.92 of the Home Office consolidated circular to the police on crime and kindred matters (a copy of which is in the Library of the House) that no member of a police force should counsel, incite or procure the commission of a criminal offence. The new order lays down that officers of the uniformed branch selected for duties in plain clothes must always be briefed by a senior officer to ensure that they avoid behaviour which could give rise to legitimate accusations that they had acted as agents provacateurs, as defined by the Royal Commission on Police Powers in 1928. The Royal Commission defined an agent provocateur as a person who entices another to commit an express breach of the law which he would not otherwise have committed and then proceeds or informs against him in respect of such an offence. HM Inspectors of Constabulary are drawing this new order to the attention of other chief officers of police.
§ Mr. Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations or complaints he has received during the past 12 months concerning the policy of different police forces throughout the country in dealing with kerb-crawling and importuning; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorWe have received representations about the enforcement of section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 by officers of the Metropolitan Police and of one provincial police force. We have also received some representations of a general nature relating to the enforcement by the police of the law in relation to prostitution. As to male importuning, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given today to his question concerning guidance to the police. As to kerb-crawling, the Government welcome the Sexual Offences Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Drake (Miss Fookes) which will enable more effective action to be taken.
§ Mr. Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any recent reports from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and other chief constables concerning the problem of kerb-crawling; whether chief constables made any recommendations or proposals in their reports on these matters; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorThe Association of Chief Police Officers and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis submitted comments and proposals to the Criminal Law Revision Committee following publication of the Committee's working paper on offences relating to706W prostitution and allied offences. These comments were taken into account by the Committee when preparing its 16th report (Cmnd. 9329), on which the relevant provisions of the Sexual Offences Bill are based.
Subsequently, as the answer given today to another Question by my hon. Friend makes clear, we have been in correspondence with the Association and the Commissioner concerning the Bill.
My right hon. and learned Friend has also received, separately, a report from the chief constable of Merseyside, who has emphasised the inadequacies of the present law and who welcomes the prospect of new legislation.
§ Mr. Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with chief constables and others on the question of kerb-crawling in connection with the Sexual Offences Bill; what conclusion he has drawn from these discussions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorWe have kept the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis fully informed of developments on the Sexual Offences Bill, and have received helpful suggestions from them which we are considering. The general conclusion which we have drawn is that the police welcome the prospect of new legislation which will enable them to respond more effectively to pressure to deal with kerb-crawlers.
§ Mr. Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from interested organisations on the question of kerb-crawling in relation the Sexual Offences Bill; if he will list those organisations in the Official Report; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorNumerous comments from organisations on the subject of kerb-crawling were submitted to the Criminal Law Revision Committee during the course of its review of the law on prostitution. The organisations which gave evidence to the Committee are listed in its 16th Report, "Prostitution in the Street" (Cmnd. 9329).
We have ourselves received a considerable number of representations in favour of more effective action against kerb-crawling, including representations from hon. Members.
Since the Sexual Offences Bill was introduced, we have received comments from the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Metropolitan Police, the National Association of Probation Officers, the Whalley Range Association and the Prosecuting Solicitors' Society. All these organisations acknowledge the extent of the nuisance caused by kerb-crawling. The National Association of Probation Officers expresses wide reservations about the Bill; others offer detailed comments.