§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes of mugging, theft and robbery were committed in England and Wales over the past 10 years by (a) the 14 to 16 year age group, (b) the 17 to 20 year age group, (c) the 21 to 25 year age group, (d) the 26 to 30 year age group, (e) the 31 to 35 year age group and (f) the 36 to 45 year age group;
(2) how many people in England and Wales (a) in the 40 to 50 year age group were mugged and robbed by the 14 to 16 year old group, (b) in the 51 to 60 year old age group were mugged and robbed by the 16 to 20 year old age group, (c) in the 61 to 70 year old age group were mugged and robbed by the 14 to 20 year old age group and (d) in the 71 to 80 year old age group were mugged and robbed by the 14 to 25 year old age group.
§ Mr. MellorStatistics of offences do not separately distinguish offences of "mugging", a term which has no legal definition; most offences of this type are recorded as offences of robbery. Annual numbers of recorded offences of robbery and theft are published in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" — tables 2.10 and 2.12 of the volume for 1982, Cmnd. 9048. Quarterly statistics are published in Home Office Statistical Bulletins. Issue 25/83 includes figures up to the third quarter of 1983. At the time658W of the recording of most offences the identity of the offender is unknown and so the information requested by age of offender is not available. The only readily available information about the ages of offenders is for those found guilty or cautioned, published in table 5.2 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1982". Information is not collected centrally about the age of the victim of recorded offences of robbery.
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sentences were given over the past 10 years to muggers and robbers in England and Wales; how many served custodial sentences; how many were given suspended sentences; how many were committing crime other than for the first time; how many parents were prosecuted on behalf of their children under the legal age; how heavy were the penalties; and how many parents did not pay the fines.
§ Mr. MellorStatistics of court proceedings do not separately distinguish offences of "mugging", a term which has no legal definition; most offences of the type frequently referred to as "mugging" are recorded as offences of robbery. The readily available information on the number of persons sentenced for robbery by type of sentence is for the period 1977 to 1982 and is given in table 7.13 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1982" —Cmnd. 9048. The latest available estimate of those found guilty of robbery who had at least one previous conviction is given in table 10.1 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1978"—Cmnd. 7670. Permitting a child under the age of criminal responsibility to commit a criminal offence is not in itself an offence and parents or guardians cannot be prosecuted on behalf of such children.
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many robberies and thefts were recorded in the Cardiff, West constituency over the past 10 years; of these, how many were committed by the 14 to 25-year-old age group; how many were prosecuted; what types of sentences were passed by the magistrates; how many people were mugged, robbed and beaten up; how many received hospital treatment; how many were confined to hospital over a long period; and how many became immobile after being mugged and robbed.
§ Mr. MellorStatistics of notifiable offences recorded by the police are collected centrally for police force areas only. The number of robberies and thefts recorded by the police in each police force area is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—table 2.5 of the volume for 1982, Cmnd. 9048. Statistics for 1983 will be published in a Home Office statistical bulletin in March. Information is not collected centrally about the circumstances of victims of robberies or thefts. The only information available centrally relating to the age of offenders is for those proceeded against at magistrates courts in the Cardiff petty sessional division or in the Cardiff Crown court centre. This information for 1982 is given in the following tables; corresponding information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Persons aged 14 and under 26 proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences of robbery and theft including handling stolen goods. Cardiff Petty Sessional Division Number of persons Robbery Theft and handling stolen goods Total number proceeded against 43 1,740 Found guilty 4 1,395 Absolute discharge — 10 Conditional discharge — 321 Probation order — 92 Supervision Order — 81 Fine 1 630 Community service order — 102 Attendance centre order 3 50 Detention centre order — 19 Care order — 8 Suspended sentence — 30 Immediate imprisonment — 30 Sec. 38 MCA, 1981 — 19 Sec. 37 MCA, 1981 — 2 Otherwise dealt with — 1
Persons aged 14 and under 26 found guilty for offences of robbery and theft. Cardiff Crown Court Centre Number of persons Robbery Theft and handling stolen goods Total found guilty 41 180 Conditional discharge — 4 Probation order — 14 Fine — 12 Community service order — 22 Detention centre order 3 12 Borstal 8 51 Returned to Borstal — 1 Fully suspended sentence 5 19 Partly suspended sentence 1 2 Unsuspended sentence 24 43