§ Mr. Maurice Macmillanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the (a) overall and (b) year by year increase for each type of major violent crime in Great Britain since 1973; and if such figures are available to him, what have been the increases for comparable crimes in France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
§ Mr. JohnDetailed information on individual offences for the years 1973 to 1977 relating to England and Wales was published in Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1977—Cmnd. 7289—in tables 2.8, 2.9, 2.10 and 2.15. Information by offence group for the year 1978 relating to England and Wales was published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 1/79, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. National differences in the definition of criminal offences, and in the availability and method of compilation of criminal statistics, are such that comparisons using existing statistics cannot be made with any degree of reliability.