§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many people have (a) been charged and (b) been convicted under section 75 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 since it came into force.
§ Mr. Allan StewartSection 75 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 gives the police powers to enforce the provisions of part V of the Act, on the control of alcohol at sporting events. The following table gives the number of offences under part V recorded by the police, the number of persons proceeded against where such an offence was the main charge, and the number of those persons against whom such charges were proved, from 1 February 1981, when part V came into effect, to 31 December 1981. Figures for 1982 are not yet available.
Scotland, 1981 Offences recorded by police Persons proceeded against Persons with charge proved Sections 69 and 70 (Offences in connection with Alcohol while travelling to Sporting Events) 17 8 8 Sections 72 and 73 (Being in or attempting to enter a designated ground while possessing alcohol or controlled container) 179 75 75 Section 74 (Being drunk in or attempting to enter while drunk a designated ground) 231 153 149
§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were stopped and searched under section 128W 4 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 since it came into force; and what proportion of those stopped were subsequently found to be carrying offensive weapons.
§ Mr. Allan StewartSection 4 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 came into effect on 1 February 1981. My Department has been collecting statistics on its exercise since 1 June 1981. The following table gives the required figures for the period 1 June 1981 to 31 March 1983, analysed by police force area.
1 June 1981 to 31 March 1983 Police force area Persons stopped and searched under Section 4 Number found to be carrying offensive weapons Percentage of those stopped found to be carrying offensive weapons Central 92 36 39 Dumfries and Galloway 9 4 44 Fife 57 19 33 Grampian 53 36 68 Lothian and Borders 187 52 28 Northern 13 8 62 Strathclyde 1,027 227 22 Tayside 211 57 27 Scotland 1,649 439 27
§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been detained under section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 since it came into force; what percentage of these cases led to an immediate charge; and what was the average period that detainees were held.
§ Mr. Allan StewartThe power of detention in section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 came into force on 1 June 1981. The first table gives the total number of detentions for each police area in Scotland, the outcome of the detentions—including the proportion resulting in an immediate charge — and the average length of detentions from 1 June 1981 until 31 May 1982. The table also includes the number of voluntary attendances recorded at police stations. Information on the length and outcome of detentions from June 1982 onwards has not yet been processed, but table 2 gives provisional figures for the total number of voluntary attendances and detentions from 1 June 1982 until 31 March 1983.
129W
Table 1 June 1981 to May 1982 Detentions Outcome Police Force Voluntary attendances Total Released (no grounds for further detention) Released (6 hours detention complete) Charged per cent. of detentions resulting in immediate charge Average length of detentions hrs. mins. Central 229 2,101 1,106 3 992 47 2 13 Dumfries and Galloway 336 679 243 0 436 64 2 22 Fife 1,141 1,699 953 2 762 45 2 08 Grampian 489 3,659 1,620 8 2,031 56 2 48 Lothian and Borders 1,054 4,155 2,521 1 1,633 39 2 08 Northern 190 565 238 8 319 56 2 28 Strathclyde 3,909 7,408 4,116 26 3,266 44 2 36 Tayside 840 1,329 740 4 585 44 3 06 Scotland 8,188 21,595 11,519 52 10,024 46 2 30
Table 2 June 1982 to March 1983 Police Force Voluntary attendances Detentions Central 126 1,716 Dumfries and Galloway 325 576 Fife 477 1,716 Grampian 350 3,308 Lothian and Borders 751 3,015 Northern 90 710 Strathclyde 6,636 5,862 Tayside 984 1,688 Scotland 9,739 18,591
§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on football crowd behaviour in Scotland in the light of the effect of measures taken under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThere has been a very considerable improvement in behaviour at football matches since the new laws were brought into operation in February 1981. I hope that this improvement will be maintained, and that football crowds will continue to heed the message "Don't take drink to the match".