§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what guidance is issued to chief constables on the reporting of criminal activity on police command and control systems and in published rates of recorded crime;
(2) whether each police force throughout England and Wales uses the same criteria in recording criminal activity on police command and control systems and in the publishing of statistics of recorded crime.
§ Mr. MacleanStatistics of recorded crime are based on rules for classification and counting which are standard for all the police forces in England and Wales. A comprehensive set of counting rules is used by police forces in order to maintain the consistency of recording multiple, continuous and repeated offences. Although these rules are issued centrally, many decisions still have to be taken locally about the recording and counting of criminal incidents.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the report of a crime on a police command and control system which is reported for information only is included in the published crime statistics.
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§ Mr. MacleanThe recording process starts when someone reports to the police that an offence has been committed or when the police observe or discover an offence. The police make an initial examination of the facts to determine if there is prima facie evidence that an offence has been committed; if so, a crime report will be made out and if that offence is deemed "notifiable", it will be included in the Home Office crime statistics.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the reporting of a series of criminal acts as a continuous crime on a police command and control system is recorded as a single crime in published crime statistics.
§ Mr. MacleanNotifiable offences deemed by the police to be of a continuous nature, in accordance with Home Office instructions, will be notified to the Home Office as a single offence and published as such.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the report of a crime on a police command and control system as tampering is recorded in the published crime statistics.
§ Mr. MacleanThe recording of "tampering" offences is dependent on the interpretation of the circumstances surrounding each individual incident. An offence regarded as being attempted theft of/from a vehicle is a "notifiable" offence and would be published in the crime statistics. However, an offence deemed to be interference with a motor vehicle is not "notifiable" and would not be shown in the crime statistics.