Domestic Violence (Hansard, 15 November 2000)

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average custodial sentence imposed in each of the last three years on persons convicted of repeat offences of domestic violence; [137878]
(2) how many individuals convicted of a second offence of domestic violence were imprisoned in each of the last three years. [137880]

§ Mr. Boateng
The information requested is not available. Offence classifications used by the Home Office are based upon legal definitions. From the data held centrally it is not possible to identify the relationship between the victim and the offender convicted of committing a crime.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of effectiveness of sentencing policy towards persons convicted of offences of domestic violence. [137879]

§ Mr. Boateng
Statistics held centrally do not distinguish the relationship between an offender and the victim of the crime. It is therefore not possible to tell from those data what sentences offenders who commit domestic violence offences receive or what effect those sentences have. Projects under the Crime Reduction Programme's violence against women initiative, and earlier research, looks at different aspects of domestic violence, including criminal remedies. This work focuses on effective interventions rather than individual sentences. Relevant information is on the Home Office's domestic violence website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/domesticviolence/index.htm. The probation service Pathfinder initiative is currently looking at perpetrator programmes run by the service for those put under its supervision, to see what works for wider adoption.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sentencing policy towards persons convicted of offences of domestic violence. [137876]

§ Mr. Boateng
The Government have no power to issue sentencing guidelines.
Powers in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 empower the Home Secretary to direct the Sentencing Advisory Panel to propose to the Court of Appeal that it issue guidelines for specific offences or categories of offence. However, the term "domestic violence" can include a range of behaviour, which could amount to one of a number of criminal offences: it is not confined to one 705W particular offence. It is difficult to see how the Court of Appeal could issue guidelines relating specifically to domestic violence.