§ Mr. Luardasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders are known by his Department to have been committed in 1966, compared with the figures for the previous 10 years.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsThe latest corrected figures for offences of murder known to the police in England and Wales are:
1956 … … … 150 1957 … … … 151 1958 … … … 125 1959 … … … 141 1960 … … … 135 1961 … … … 130 1962 … … … 142 1963 … … … 133 1964 … … … 153 1965 … … … 151 1966 … … … 143 The figure for 1966 includes one offence not yet disposed of by the courts.
The figures for 1957 onwards are not directly comparable with those for earlier years because, as a result of the Homicide Act, they exclude some cases that would previously have been classified as murder but are not now so classified.