§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cautions were issued each year since 1990 in the Peterlee sub-division.
§ Mr. MacleanInformation collected centrally shows only the police force area in which a caution is given. The table gives cautioning data for the Durham constabulary for 1990 to 1992—which is provisional. 1993 information will not be available until autumn 1994.
Number of offenders cautioned in Durham police force area by type of offence 1990, 1991 and 19921 Type of offence 1990 1991 11992 Indictable 1,235 1,152 1,377 Summary (excluding motoring) 766 704 688 Total 2,001 1,856 2,065 1 Provisional.
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what additional resources will be made available to the police service as a whole, and for each police force area, to implement the draft circular on cautioning;
(2) how many additional police officers he estimates will be needed to implement the draft circular on cautioning;
(3) what additional resources will be made available to the Crown Prosecution Service to implement the draft circular on cautioning;
(4) what will be the cost to the legal aid budget of the draft circular on cautioning;
(5) what is his estimate of the additional workload for the Crown Prosecution Service of his draft circular on cautioning;
(6) what is his estimate of the additional workload for the police service as a whole, and for each police force, of his draft circular on cautioning;
(7) how many extra staff he estimates will be needed by the Crown Prosecution Service to implement the draft circular on cautioning.
§ Mr. MacleanThe resource implications of the new draft guidance are still being examined while consultation is in progress, but since it is not expected to do more than return the number of cautions to the level that was current in 1991, I do not expect significant additional resources to be required.
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his estimate of the impact on the average length of time from charge or summons to completion of a case in the youth court of his announcement on cautioning;
(2) what is his estimate of the number of additional prosecutions which will result from his draft guidance on cautioning;
(3) what is his estimate of the impact on the average length of time from first appearance of a case in a youth court to completion of his announcement on cautioning;
(4) what is his estimate of the number of additional cases that will be dealt with (a) in the youth court, (b) in magistrates courts and (c) in the Crown court as a result of his draft circular on cautioning.
§ Mr. MacleanResponsibility for deciding whether or not to caution an offender in any particular case will 365W continue to rest with the police who will make their own judgments as to what action it would be appropriate to take in particular circumstances. But we have estimated that the effect of the guidance which has just been issued for consultation might be to increase the number of prosecutions by some 25,000 to 30,000. The vast majority of these cases would be heard in the youth court or magistrates courts; it is too soon to estimate reliably the effect, if any, on court waiting times.
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average length of time from offence to the administering of a police caution nationally and in each police force area;
(2) what is the average cost of a caution.
§ Mr. MacleanThis information is not available.