§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will seek from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as much detailed information as may be readily available giving either for the various boroughs in the police area, or the police station regions, the number of offences commonly known as muggings that took place during the year ended 1 April 1981; how these compare with the previous year; and what action has been taken to reduce this type of offence.
§ Mr. MayhewMugging is a term with no legal definition. I understand from the Commissioner of Police368W of the Metropolis that the information readily available relating to police districts is as given in the following table:
Certain Offences of Robbery of Personal Property* Recorded by the Police by Police District Metropolitan Police District 1979–80 Number of offences District 1979 1980 A 39 38 B 180 141 C 169 202 D 175 125 E 139 158 F 114 107 G 257 409 H 107 128 I 5 6 J 93 128 K 146 137 L 480 593 M 276 225 N 137 165 P 182 195 Q 173 295 R 52 98 S 31 65 T 57 72 V 37 46 W 253 284 X 90 75 Y 217 358 Z 59 128 Total MPD 3468 4178 * 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. As to the action taken to reduce the incidence of this type of offence, efforts are made to identify the areas where there is the greatest risk and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has a policy of deploying extra uniformed patrolling officers in those areas where a problem has been indentified.