§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Strathclyde as to what proportion of the clear-up rate for 639W crime in his area in 1990–91 is accounted for by voluntary admissions by convicted criminals; how many detectives are employed to obtain these admissions; and when the practice ceased.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonSuch practices are not part of the approach to detection employed by Scottish police forces. Strathclyde police have no record of any voluntary admissions obtained in this way.
Region Serious irregularity Minor breach Payment withheld (a) (b) (c) in full in part Borders — 3 — 3 Central — — — — Dumfries and Galloway — — — — Fife — 1 — 1 Grampian — 16 2 14 Highland — 1 — 1 Lothian — — — — Tayside — 7 — 7 Others — — — — Total — 28 2 26 This information is provisional, as a small number of claims are still outstanding.