§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last five years under section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824, as applied to Scotland by section 15 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1871.
§ Mr. YoungerThis information is not separately available. The number of persons proceeded against under either section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824—suspected person or reputed thief—as applied to Scotland by section 15 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1871, or section 409 of the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892—known or reputed thief or associate—is shown in the table below.
Number of persons proceeded against 1974 563 1975 465 1976 593 1977 762 1978 504 It is understood that most of these proceedings were under section 409.