§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give, for the longest and most convenient stated period of time, the number of police raids connected with pornography; how many books etc. were seized; how many police officers and vehicles were involved; and what results were achieved so far as prosecutions and successes were concerned.
§ Dr. SummerskillNational figures are not available. I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that in the two years 1973 and 1974 his officers executed 675 search warrants issued under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and seized some 450,000 articles. In the same period court proceedings were completed in 604 cases, involving 439 persons or companies, and all but 18 of these cases resulted in a conviction or a forfeiture order. Details of the numbers of officers and vehicles involved in searches are not available.
274Wis not readily available. Otherwise the information is as follows: