§ Mr. John GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders were committed in 1987.
§ Mr. John PattenIn the absence of a court decision it is not always possible to distinguish between offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide; they are known collectively as homicide. Statistics on offences initially recorded as homicide and on offences decided to be murder are published in table 4.2 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", Cm. 233—for data up to the end of 1986—copies of which are available in the Library. Statistics on offences recorded as homicide for 1987 are not yet available.