§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of(a) racially aggravated offences, (b) violent crime, (c) robbery of personal property and (d) drug offences were recorded in (i) Lancashire and (ii) the North West of England in (A) 1997, (B) 1998, (C) 1999, (D) 2000 and (E) 2001. [82373]
§ Mr. DenhamThe requested statistics are given in the following table.
On 1 April 1998, there was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime, and an expansion of the offences covered. This resulted in an increase of crimes recorded by the police. Recorded crime figures before this date will therefore not be directly comparable.
As Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester police forces implemented the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in advance of its national implementation in April 2002, the recorded crime figures for these areas cannot be directly compared with those for previous years. The affects of the Standard are explained in table footnote 4.
five years; and what the target number of police officers in each police authority was in each of those years. [82519]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 25 November 2002]: The information requested about police strength has 371W been set out in the table. Targets for individual force strength are not collected centrally.
Police Officer Strength Year as at 31 March Dyfed-Powys Gwent North Wales South Wales 1998 1,002 1,233 1,396 2,986 1999 1,026 1,247 1,391 2,981 2000 1,040 1,264 1,403 2,926 2001 1,055 1,274 1,444 3,154 2002 1,132 1,333 1,506 3,222 372W
Civilian Support Staff Year as at 31 March Dyfed-Powys Gwent North Wales South Wales 1998 341 477 479 1,132 1999 341 487 508 1,223 2000 359 498 519 1,081 2001 401 537 498 1,270
Civilian Support Staff Year as at 31 March Dyfed-Powys Gwent North Wales South Wales 2002 459 570 645 1,435 Source:
Home Office Statistical Bulletins—Police Service Strength 1998–2002