§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are in prison for(a) drug offences, (b) drug trafficking offences and (c) supply offences; and of these groups of women, what percentage (i) have dependent children, (ii) are UK nationals and (iii) are non-UK nationals giving countries of nationality. [82861]
§ Hilary BennInformation on the number of women in prison for drug supply offences, unlawful import/export and other drugs offences, and the nationality of these prisoners, is contained in the table.
Statistics on whether women currently in prison for drugs offences have dependent children is not available.
Previous Home Office research (Caddie & Crisp, Imprisoned women and mothers, 1994, Home Office Research Study 162), found that 61 per cent. of women in prison were mothers of children aged under 18 and/or were pregnant. 28 per cent. of sentenced mothers in this study were in prison for drugs offences.
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Imprisoned women England and Wales 31 October 2002 Nationality Number Unlawful import/export Drugs supply Other drugs offences Antarctica 1 — — 1 Australia 1 1 — — Bangladesh 1 — 1 — Barbados 1 1 — — Belgium 5 5 — — Brazil 10 9 — 1 Canada 2 2 — — Columbia 6 3 1 2 Dominican Republic 1 1 — — Ecuador 1 — — 1 France 7 5 2 — Germany 4 3 — 1 Germany 5 5 — — Ghana 5 4 1 — Greece 1 — 1 — Grenada 2 2 — — Guyana 3 3 — — India 4 2 — 2 Irish Republic 4 3 1 — Italy 2 2 — — Jamaica 459 397 35 27 Kenya 2 2 — — Latvia 1 1 — — Liberia 1 1 — —
Imprisoned Women England and Wales 31 October 2002 Nationality Number Unlawful import/export Drugs supply Other drugs offences Montserrat 2 2 — — Netherlands 21 20 — 1 Netherlands Antilles 3 3 — — Nigeria 17 15 1 1 Not known 9 9 — — Pakistan 1 1 — — Peru 1 1 — — Poland 1 1 — — Portugal 7 7 — — Singapore 1 1 — — South Africa 22 21 1 — Spain 12 12 — — St Christopher and Nevis 1 1 — — St Kitts and Nevis 2 2 — — St Lucia 1 1 — — Stateless 1 1 — — Surinam 1 1 — — Sweden 2 2 — — Switzerland 1 1 — — Thailand 1 1 — — Tongo 1 1 — — Trinidad and Tobago 3 3 — — United Kingdom 842 283 320 239 United States of America 9 9 — — Venezuela 4 4 — — Vietnam 1 — — — Virgin Islands 1 1 — — Zimbabwe 1 1 — — Total 1,497 857 364 277
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are held in prisons in England and Wales, broken down by the offences they are held for. [83670]
§ Hilary BennThe requested data are shown in the following table. Female prisoners held in prisons in England and Wales on the 31 October 2002, broken down by offence.
Offence Group Number of female prisoners Total 4,427 Violence against the person 695 Sexual offences 21 Burglary 305 Robbery 481 Theft and handling 726 Fraud and forgery 133 Drugs offences 1,497 Other offences 460 Offence not recorded 108
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were received into prison in each of the last three years, broken down by offences. [83671]
§ Hilary BennThe number of women first received into prisons in England and Wales over the last three years by offence type is given in the table.
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First receptions of females into prison service establishments in England and Wales by offence group Offence Group 1999 2000 2001 Total 10,982 10,752 12,164 Violence against the person 1,126 1,182 1,318 Sexual offences 28 37 29 Burglary 468 426 527
First receptions of females into prison service establishments in England and Wales by offence group Offence Group 1999 2000 2001 Robbery 254 311 395 Theft and handling 4,135 4,156 4,587 Fraud and forgery 673 619 678 Drugs offences 1,275 1,196 1,452 Other offences 2,063 1,934 2,181 Offence not recorded 958 891 997