§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many murders were recorded in England in each of the past five years;
(2) how many murders were recorded in Wales in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. BrittanIn a case of homicide, it is not possible in the absence of a court decision to distinguish between offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide. The information given in the following table relates to the number of offences initially recorded by the police as homicide after adjustment for subsequent changes in classification; information on this basis is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—table 28 of the volume for 1978, Cmnd. 7289. Separate information by country is not readily available for the more detailed recording of homicide described in chapter 9 of the same publication, where the numbers for
offences initially recorded as homicide—in table 9.1 of the volume for 1978—are slightly different.
OFFENCES OF HOMICIDE RECORDED BY THE POLICE BY COUNTRY ENGLAND AND WALES Number of offences Year Total England Wales 1974 600 570 30 1975 515 486 29 1976 565 533 32 1977 482 457 25 1978 532 508 24