§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) by what percentage the number of murders made known to the police has changed over the past 10 years.
(2) if he will publish a table showing the numbers of murders made known to the police in each of the past 10 years which involved the death of a child under 16 years of age.
§ Mr. MellorIn the absence of a court decision it is not always possible to distinguish between offences of murder, manslaughter, and infanticide; they are collectively known as homicide. Information on the offences of homicide recorded by the police, on their outcome and on the ages of the victims is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"; in tables 4.1, 4.2 and 4.6 respectively of the issue for 1985 (Cmnd 10). Further information on the outcome of offences of homicide involving children aged under 16 is given in the following table. Corresponding information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
845W
1982 1983 1984 1985 Proceedings not initiated or concluded without conviction2 16 6 21 29 Currently no suspect 5 6 7 10 Total offences currently recorded as homicide1 90 74 83 105 1As at 1 September 1986. 2Includes suspect commited suicide.