§ Mr. BurdenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to collect information on the make and year of manufacture of vehicles affected by theft; and what assessment he has made of the usefulness of such information in tackling car crime. [1197]
§ Mr. MacleanThe Home Office does not routinely collect information about the make and year of manufacture of stolen vehicles. In 1991, however, information relating to the previous calendar year was used to compile the car theft index which revealed conclusively that certain makes and models of car were more at risk of theft than others. The recently published study by the police research group into the theft of heavy goods vehicles includes information about vehicles stolen during 1994 broken down by make, year of registration and body type, and by location and time at which theft occurred. The findings of the study are being used to encourage vehicle and security device manufacturers and heavy goods vehicles owners and drivers to take specific action to help reduce theft levels.
As the result of an agreement signed earlier this year between the Home Office and the CCN Group Ltd., the National Criminal Intelligence Service is receiving comprehensive data on all stolen vehicles from CCN and using this information, which can be broken down into various categories, in its work against organised crime. We are currently considering what other uses can be made of these data in combating vehicle crime in general.
§ Mr. PearsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the number of reported burglaries from motor vehicles in the area covering Dudley, West in each year since 1979 and the percentage difference in the number of those reported burglaries between 1979 and the latest year for which figures are available; [586]
(2) what was the number of reported thefts from motor vehicles in the area covering Dudley, West in each year since 1979 and the percentage difference in the number of those reported thefts between 1979 and the latest year for which figures are available; [584]
(3) what was the total number of reported crimes in the area covering Dudley, West in each year since 1979 and the percentage difference in the number of those reported crimes between 1979 and the latest year for which figures are available. [587]
217W(4) what was the number of reported thefts of motor vehicles in the area covering Dudley, West in each year since 1979 and the percentage difference in the number of those reported thefts between 1979 and the latest year for which figures are available. [585]
§ Mr. MacleanThe information is not collected centrally.