§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cars were reported stolen in the year for which recent figures are available in the(a) Lancashire Police Authority, (b) Greater London Police Authority and (c) Warwickshire Police Authority areas. [153618]
§ Ms BlearsThe numbers of 'Theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle' offences recorded by the police in 2002–03, are given in the table.
Police force area Offences recorded1,2 Lancashire 5,585 London Region3 58,739 Warwickshire 2,282 1 Includes aggravated vehicle taking offences, and attempted theft of vehicles. 2 The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) was introduced across England and Wales in April 2002. Some police forces adopted the standard prior to this date. The Metropolitan Police and City of London introduced the standard in April 2002, Warwickshire in April 2001, and Lancashire in August 2000. Broadly, the NCRS had the effect of increasing the number of crimes recorded by the police. Therefore, following the introduction of the standard, numbers of recorded crimes are not comparable with previous years. 3 The London region comprises the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police.