§ Mr. John Fraserasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serious crimes were recorded in L Division of the Metropolitan police in 1982; and to what extent each category represents an increase in percentage terms on the year 1978.
§ Mr. MayhewWe understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the information available is as given in the following table. Figures for 1978 are not directly comparable with those for 1982 because of changes made by new counting rules which were introduced at the beginning of 1980. For this reason comparisons are given between figures for 1982 and 1980.
Notifiable offences recorded by the police in "L" Division of the Metropolitan Police District Metropolitan Police Offence groups Number of offences in 1982 Percentage change 1982–80 Assaults, etc. 1,253 +37 Robbery and other violent theft 3,190 +64 Burglary 8,974 +37 Autocrime 15,065 +43 Other theft and handling 5,807 +15 Fraud and forgery 1,107 -16 Criminal damage and miscellaneous 5,374 +19 Total 40,770 +32