§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the(a) number and (b) types of crime committed by prisoners released on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme while they are on the scheme which are not reported to the police; and if he will make a statement. [152694]
§ Mr. Boateng[holding answer 8 March 2001]: No data are collected on the number or type of offences which might be committed by prisoners released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) but which are not reported by victims to the police. The British Crime Survey which measures crime against households and individuals—including incidents not reported to the police—shows that overall levels of crime in 1999, the year following introduction of the HDC scheme, were 10 per cent. lower than in 1997.