§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving police vehicles in England and Wales have been referred to the Police Complaints Authority in each year since 1990. [65657]
§ Mr. BoatengThe information has been provided by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).
The Police Complaints Authority has a statutory obligation to supervise the investigation of complaints involving death or serious injury. It also has discretion to 333W supervise any other complaint investigation where, in its view, the public interest makes it appropriate. A police force may also voluntarily refer a matter. If no complaint is made by a member of the public, then the referral of the case remains a decision for the force concerned.
Prior to 1993, PCA statistics did not separately identify the supervision of investigations into deaths involving police vehicles. In the calendar year 1993, the Authority supervised investigations into eight cases involving seven deaths. From 1 January 1994 to 31 March 1995 (when statistical recording changed from calendar to financial year) 16 investigations into deaths associated with police vehicles were supervised by the Authority. 12 of those involved some form of pursuit. In 1995–96 it supervised 27 such investigations with 21 involving police pursuit. In 1997–98 29 investigations were supervised and 9 of those involved pursuit.
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Police accidents during pursuits and emergency responses: forces in England and Wales
1993 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Total Avon and Somerset 205 170 260 229 184 1,048 Bedfordshire 34 20 60 93 83 290 Cambridgeshire 38 50 80 107 123 398 Cheshire 114 73 101 102 1— 390 City of London 11 14 11 19 13 68 Cleveland 128 108 39 22 39 336 Cumbria 40 29 39 19 20 147 Derbyshire 17 58 74 96 84 329 Devon and Cornwall 29 53 110 64 93 349 Dorset 50 54 130 56 44 334 Durham 94 105 100 73 33 405 Dyfed-Powys 9 20 5 19 9 62 Essex 12 1— 38 93 1— 143 Gloucestershire 8 1— 5 91 61 165 Greater Manchester 493 426 539 1— 195 1,653 Gwent 1 9 1— 38 57 105 Hampshire 86 115 106 161 78 546 Hertfordshire 18 10 42 75 55 200 Humberside 79 69 48 37 66 299 Kent 13 27 99 180 138 457 Lancashire 55 72 89 85 53 354 Leicestershire 67 71 77 78 30 323 Lincolnshire 12 28 40 36 26 142 Merseyside 216 225 244 135 119 939 Metropolitan Police 2,009 1,995 2,578 1,308 1,422 9,312 Norfolk 65 46 46 45 36 238 Northamptonshire 64 71 69 68 43 315 Northumbria 325 1— 1— 1— 180 505 North Wales 31 36 27 22 9 125 North Yorkshire 81 68 51 48 51 299 Nottinghamshire 185 161 208 135 141 830 South Wales 139 1— 37 79 104 359 South Yorkshire 23 150 114 98 139 524 Staffordshire 91 72 148 156 142 609 Suffolk 7 31 21 21 4 84 Surrey 93 122 108 125 55 503 Sussex 25 41 23 140 138 367 Thames Valley 404 327 346 398 394 1,869 Warwickshire 8 33 54 46 41 182 West Mercia 58 93 60 55 49 315 West Midlands 258 258 306 295 291 1,408 West Yorkshire 131 49 53 15 1— 248 Wiltshire 61 27 26 10 23 147 1Show no force return submitted
§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each police area in England and Wales how many road traffic accidents have occurred whilst police vehicles are in pursuit of another vehicle since 1990. [65656]
§ Mr. BoatengFigures are not available centrally in exactly the categories requested, as statistics collate pursuit accidents with those arising from immediate responses to emergency call. Collection procedures changed in 1993 to include all police vehicle accidents on the roads. These range from minor-damage-only incidents to serious ones involving injury or death. The information set out in the table has been provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, to which forces submit statistical returns.
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§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in England and Wales have been involved in road traffic accidents whilst involved in car chases in each year since 1990; and how many such accidents have resulted in injury or fatality to(a) police officers, (b) those being pursued and (c) other members of the public. [65655]
§ Mr. BoatengFigures are not available centrally in all the categories requested. The information has been provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, to which forces submit statistical returns. It includes both police pursuits and immediate responses to emergency calls.
Police pursuits and emergency responses—fatalities and injuries Year Fatality Serious injury Police Other injury Fatality Serious injury Civllian Other injury 1990 1 143 1— 23 174 1— 1991 2 101 1— 30 170 1— 1992 2 112 1— 28 188 1— 1993 5 113 1— 29 187 1— 1994–95 2 53 1,036 19 56 685 1995–96 4 90 1,012 17 123 944 1996–97 0 100 979 15 107 744 1997–98 0 105 1,134 15 94 764 1 Not available