§ Mr. Wheelerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of murder were finally recorded in 1980; how many of these cases were attributable to acts of terrorism; how many victims were acquainted with the murder suspect or accused; and what was the most common method of killing.
§ Mr. Mayhew[pursuant to his reply, 9 March 1982, c. 361]: In the case of homicide it is not possible, in the absence of a court decision, to distinguish between the offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide. The information available is published in chapter 4 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1980"—Cmnd. 8376. Of the 564 offences currently recorded as homicide in 1980, 101 had been decided by the court to be murder and 269 to be manslaughter or infanticide, four were attributed to acts of terrorism, 357 victims were acquainted with the suspect and the most frequently identified method of killing was by means of a sharp instrument.