§ Mr. Kevin HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many offenders under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960 there are in the United Kingdom;
Number of known offenders—those found guilty or cautioned—for offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 19601 1990 to 1992 England and Wales Offence description Year Cautions Convictions Known offenders Gross indecency with boys 1990 53 128 181 1991 41 91 132 1992 46 99 145 Gross indecency with girls 1990 41 148 189 1991 40 128 168 1992 52 129 181 1The Act does not extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Kevin HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what figures he has on the incidence of reoffending among offenders under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960.
§ Mr. MacleanFull information on the incidence of such reoffending is not available. Some information has been extracted from two studies which use the offenders index:
- (i) In a cohort study of around 50,000 people born in England and Wales in 1953 whose convictions have been followed until the end of 1989, 14 people in the sample had at least one conviction under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. Of these, four people had at least one further conviction recorded up until the end of 1989; none of these further convictions were for offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. Two of the 10 without further convictions had been followed up for less than two years.
- (ii) In a study of all people discharged from prisons in England and Wales in 1988 whose principal offence was a sexual offence, 215 people had a conviction under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. Of these, 35—or 16 per cent.—had at least one further conviction in the four years following discharge, including 12—or 6 per cent.—who were reconvicted for a further sexual offence of any type.
§ Mr. Kevin HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make available the guidelines issued to police on the maintenance of records of information on offenders under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960.
§ Mr. MacleanNo guidelines have been issued. This is a matter for individual chief constables.
The paedophile unit of the national criminal intelligence service maintains a national database of known paedophiles and assists investigators by developing and disseminating intelligence in respect of those involved in paedophile offences.
300W(2) how many people have been convicted of offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960 in each of the last three years.
§ Mr. MacleanInformation for England and Wales on the number of "known offenders"—those found guilty or cautioned—for offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960 for 1990 to 1992 is given in the table. The Act does not extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland. 1993 data are not yet available.