§ Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of mugging have been reported to the Metropolitan Police in the last three years; and how many prosecutions and convictions have followed.
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§ Mr. JohnThere is no specific offence of "mugging", a term which has no legal definition.
The following tables give details of the number of offences of robbery, since it is into this category that incidents described as "muggings" will fall.
Offences of Robbery recorded as known to the Metropolitan Police 1973 … … … 2,680 1974 … … … 3,151 1975 … … … 4,452
Persons proceeded against for offences of robbery and those found guilty—Metropolitan Police District No. of persons 1974 1975 Proceeded against … 1,007 1,376 Found guilty … 649 761 Figures for 1973 are not readily available. The Metropolitan Police keep a separate record of offences which approximate to what is commonly understood by the term "mugging": that is, offences of robbery of personal property which follow a sudden attack in the open where there is no previous association between the victim and the assailant. The figures for such offences recorded as known to the Metropolitan Police are: 1,224, 1,454 and 1,977 for 1973, 1974 and 1975 respectively.