§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions there have been under the Sexual Offences Act 1985 in each identifiable area of England and Wales.
§ Mr. John PattenThe Act came into force in September 1985. 21 prosecutions were recorded in England and Wales in 1985.
The information held centrally for 1986, which may be incomplete, is given in the table. There is no power of arrest under this Act.
Males proceeded against or found guilty under the Sexual Offences Act 1985 England and Wales 1986 Police force area1 Proceeded against Found guilty Avon and Somerset 2 2 Bedfordshire 4 1 Cleveland 2 2 Gloucester 1 1 Greater Manchester 73 66 Leicestershire 10 10 Lincolnshire 1 — Merseyside 7 7 Metropolitan police 10 8 Norfolk 13 13 Northamptonshire 1 1 Nottinghamshire 1 1 South Yorkshire 2 1 Staffordshire 11 3 West Midlands 68 63 West Yorkshire 13 9 South Wales 1 1 England and Wales 220 189 1 No prosecutions were recorded in the other 26 police force areas.