§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish in the Official Report the statistics contained in the letter he sent to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West, concerning muggings and rape in the London borough of Newham.
§ Mr. BrittanYes. I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that in 1978 there were 36 arrests in the London borough of Newham for offences of robbery of personal property following a sudden attack in the open, there having been no previous association between the assailant and the victim, and 394 arrests for all other offences involving attacks on the person. It is not possible to distinguish those offences which took place on the public highway. In 1978, seven offences of rape were recorded by the police in the London borough of Newham. The number of cases where an offence of rape was alleged but where the allegation was un-646W substantiated is not known. During the same period five people were arrested for offences of rape in the borough.