HC Deb 17 June 1965 vol 714 cc102-4W
Mr. Tinn

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now bring up to date the figures given in the Home Office Report, Murder, to show the number of murders known to the police in 1964, the number of offences reduced to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, and the estimated numbers of capital and non-capital offences.

Sir F. Soskice

The information requested is given in the following tables, which include provisional figures for 1964 in addition to the figures for earlier years which I gave on 11th December, 1964, in reply to a Question by the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Handsworth (Sir E. Boyle).

TABLE I
FINALLY ADJUSTED NUMBERS OF MURDERS KNOWN TO THE POLICE, AND NUMBER OF OFFENCES REDUCED TO MANSLAUGHTER BY REASON OF DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY UNDER s.2 OF THE HOMICIDE ACT 1957
— Number of victims Number per million of home population† of England and Wales
Murder s.2 Manslaughter Total Murder Murder and s.2 Manslaughter
1931–40 annual average … … 130 — 130 3.2 3.2
1941–50 … … 152 — 152 * *
1951–55 … … 137 — 137 3.1 3.1
1956 … … … 150 — 150 3.4 3.4
1957 … … … 151 23 174 3.3 3.9
1958 … … … 125 28 153 2.8 3.4
1959 … … … 141 20 161 3.1 3.5
1960 … … … 135 31 166 3.0 3.7
1961 … … … 130 29 159 2.8 3.4
1962 … … … 142 37 179 3.0 3.8
1963 … … … 133 56 189 2.8 4.0
1964 (provisional) … … 156† 33 189 3.3 4.0
155 35 190 3.3 4.0
* No figure for home population is available for the war years, since this represents persons actually living in the country at the time.
† Including 3 offences, recorded as murders known to the police, which have not yet been disposed of by the courts.
TABLE 6
MURDERS KNOWN TO THE POLICE TOGETHER WITH OFFENCES REDUCED TO MANSLAUGHTERBY REASON OF DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY
ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF "CAPITAL" AND "NON-CAPITAL" OFFENCES
— "Capital" "Non-capital" Total
Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent.
1952 … … 17 12.1 124 87.9 141 100.0
1953 … … 17 12.1 123 87.9 140 100.0
1954 … … 22 15.2 123 84.8 145 100.0
1955 … … 15 11.3 118 88.7 133 100.0
1956 … … 30 19.9 120 80.0 150 100.0
1957 … … 23 13.2 151 86.8 174 100.0
1958 … … 19 12.4 134 87.6 153 100.0
1959 … … 23 14.3 138 85.7 161 100.0
1960 … … 31 18.7 135 81.3 166 100.0
1961 … … 20 12.6 139 87.4 159 100.0
1962 … … 21 11.7 158 88.3 179 100.0
1963 … … 22 11.6 167 88.4 189 100.0
1964 (provisional) … … 26 13.8 163* 86.2 189 100.0
Before Homicide Act (1.1.52 to 20.3.57):
Annual average … … 20 14.4 121 85.6 141 100.0
After Homicide Act (21.3.57 to 31.12.64):
Annual average … … 23 13.5 149 86.5 172 100.0
* Including 3 offences, recorded as murders known to the police, which have not yet been disposed of by the courts and 2 offences in which convictions were obtained under Section 6 of the Homicide Act.