18. Mr. Edward Taylorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders, attempted murders and cases of manslaughter were made known to the police in 1972; and by what percentage these figures exceeded or were less than the comparable figures for the year before the Bill to abolish capital punishment was introduced.
§ Mr. R. CarrThe latest corrected figure for murder in England and Wales in 1972 is 149. This figure is 22 per cent. higher that the corresponding figure for 1963 but 14 per cent. lower than in 1971.
The figure for offences of murder recorded as known to the police at 31st December 1972 was 257, 68 per cent. higher than the corresponding figure for 1963, but in both years this figure does not take account of subsequent court proceedings or other factors.
390WAt 31st December 1972 the number of offences of attempted murder and manslaughter recorded as known to the police in England and Wales for 1972 were respectively 354 and 200, 74 per cent. and 48 per cent. higher than in 1963.