§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for bail were made to 402W cerning the ethnic appearance of persons who are stopped and searched is not collected centrally.
The information available on those stopped and searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 refers to all such persons, and I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by him on 18 February.—[Vol. 979, c. 19–20.]
Regarding offences under section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824, there is no power to stop and search persons before arresting them; the information readily available on their ethnic appearance relates only to persons arrested under the laws related to being a suspected person, etc., in the Metropolitan Police district and is given in the following table:
a judge in chambers through the Crown Office in 1978 and 1979; and what percentage of these applications was successful;
(2) how many applications were made for bail to a judge in chambers through the Official Solicitor in 1978 and 1979; and what percentage of these applications was successful.
The Solicitor-GeneralI have been asked to reply.
The figures are:
Crown Office 1978 505 (32.1%) 1979 454 (30.6%) Official Solicitor 1978 5,517 (10.3%) 1979 6,473 (6.1%) Percentage of successful applications in parenthesis.
These figures involve some duplication, as both categories include a number of repeated unsuccessful applications.