Cleared-up Crime (Hansard, 13 February 1996)

§ Mr. Alex Carlile
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the definition of a cleared-up crime for official statistical purposes; and what changes have been made to the definition over the last five years. [14247]

§ Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 12 February 1996]An offence can be recorded as cleared up if any of the conditions listed are met. There have been no changes in the last five years.
An offence is cleared up when:

1. a person has been charged or summonsed for the offence, irrespective of any subsequent acquittal;

2. the offence has been taken into consideration by the court or if the unequivocal consent of the offender is obtained by way of statement of admission and desire to have further offences taken into consideration;

3. the offender has been proceeded against in another police force area for the offence;

4. the offender dies before proceedings could be initiated or completed;
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5. the offender has been cautioned by the police;

6. the offender is ill and is unlikely to recover or is too senile or too mentally disturbed for proceedings to be taken;

7. the complainant or an essential witness is dead and the proceedings cannot be pursued;

8. the guilt of the offender is clear but the victim refuses, or is permanently unable, or if a juvenile is not permitted, to give evidence;

9. the offender admits the offence but it is decided that no useful purpose would be served by proceeding with the charge;

10. it is ascertained that an offence has been committed by a child under the age of criminal responsibility;

11. an offence is admitted by a juvenile of the age of criminal responsibility and police take no action other than reporting the particulars to a local authority for action under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969;

12. There is sufficient evidence to charge the offender but

(a) The police prosecuting department, the Crown Prosecution Service or a senior police officer decides that no useful purpose would be served by proceeding with the charge; or

(b) for summary offences of unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle or criminal damage value over £20 the time limit of six months for commencing prosecution has been exceeded.

§ Mr. Carlile
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of recorded crime(a) resulted in a conviction and (b) was cleared-up in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [14248]

§ Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 12 February 1996]: Information on the percentage of offenders committed which result in a conviction is published on page 25 of "Digest 3—Information on the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales". Information for other years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information on the percentage of recorded offences cleared up is published in table 2.8 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1994". Copies of both these publications are available in the Library.

§ Mr. Carlile
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the(a) the number of convictions and (b) the number of cleared-up crimes, for each category of offence, for each of the last five years;and if he will make a statement. [14276]

§ Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 12 February 1996]: Information on the number of notifiable offences cleared up by offence groups and on the number of offenders found guilty for all types of offence by main offence group is published in tables 2.8 and 5.8 respectively of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1994", a copy of which is available in the Library.