§ 27. Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department collects on the number, sex, age, race and occupation of victims of crime; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorI refer the hon. Member to the answer given to a question by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Ms. Short) on 5 December 1985, at column 308. I understand that the Criminal Injuries Compensation 255W Board records information on the age, sex, and occupation of victims of crimes of violence who apply for compensation.
§ 36. Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes involving the use of firearms were made known to the police in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and what were the comparable totals five and 10 years previously.
§ Mr. MellorStatistics of notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms of all types, including air weapons, were reported to have been used are published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (tables 3.1 and 3.2 of the lastest edition for 1984, Cmnd. 9621). Eight thousand three hundred and seventy-six such offences were recorded in 1984, 6,547 in 1979 and 2,828 in 1974.
§ 39. Mr. Gregoryasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases brought to the attention of the police involved firearms in (a) England and (b) the three Yorkshire local authorities for the most recent six-month period for which statistics are available.
§ Mr. MellorAnnual figures of notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used are published annually for each police force area in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales,"(Supplementary tables, vol. 3 (table S.3.1.(a) of the issue for 1984). Figures for the latest available six months are given in the table.
Notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used. 1 July-31 December 1984 North South West Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire England 26 129 183 3,761
§ 42. Mr. Cabornasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of victims of crime during the 12 months ended September 1985: and what were the figures to the 12 months ended March 1979.
§ Mr. MellorThe information requested is not available. Statistics of individual victims of crime are not
256W
Offences of Rape recorded by the Police England and Wales 1979 1984 Change 1979–84 Police force area Number of offences Number Percentage Avon and Somerset 32 39 7 +22 Bedfordshire 12 23 11 +92 Cambridgeshire 16 22 6 +38 Cheshire 13 9 -4 -31 Cleveland 8 18 10 +125 Cumbria 7 8 1 +14 Derbyshire 17 18 1 +6 Devon and Cornwall 29 22 -7 -24 Dorset 8 7 -1 -12 Durham 10 20 10 +100 Essex 27 26 -1 -4 Gloucestershire 11 9 -2 -18 collected centrally except for homicide. The statistics that are available relate to notifiable offences recorded by the police, including those which do not have personal victims and those which have more than one victim. Statistics of notifiable offences are published annually in chapter 2 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales".
§ 66. Mr. Simon Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the number of crimes cleared up by the police as a percentage of notified crime for both 1979 and the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MellorThe proportion of notifiable offences by the police in 1979 which were cleared up was 41 per cent. The corresponding figure for 1984 was 35 per cent. These figures have been published in table 2.17 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1984" (Cmnd. 9621). However, although the proportion of recorded offences which have been cleared up has fallen, the number cleared up has risen from 1 million in 1979 to 1.15 million in 1984.
§ 67. Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the increase from October to September 1985 over the previous 12 months in the number of offences of violence against the person.
§ Mr. MellorThe police recorded 119,410 offences of violence against the person from October 1984 to September 1985, 6,560 more than in the preceding 12 months. The latest statistics of recorded offences are published in Home Office "Statistical Bulletin," issue No. 34/85.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkaked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the absolute and percentage increase in violent offences against women recorded in each police authority area between 1979 and 1984.
§ Mr. MellorThe figures relating to offences of rape and of indecent assault on a female recorded by the police are given in the following tables. Where the numbers of offences are small the changes shown are subject to wide variation and may therefore be misleading. No information is separately available for offences of woundings of or common assault on a woman because the information collected centrally does not include the sex of the victim.
257W
1979 1984 Change 1979–84 Police force area Number of offences Number Percentage Greater Manchester 31 52 21 +68 Hampshire 40 36 -4 -10 Hertfordshire 22 17 -5 -23 Humberside 25 27 2 -8 Kent 20 23 3 +15 Lancashire 12 16 4 +33 Leicestershire 13 12 -1 -8 Lincolnshire 18 18 0 — London, City of — — — — Merseyside 43 60 17 +40 Metropolitan Police 247 365 118 +48 Norfolk 13 24 11 +85 Northamptonshire 12 14 2 +17 Northumbria 19 48 29 +153 North Yorkshire 13 8 -5 -38 Nottinghamshire 28 23 -5 -18 South Yorkshire 35 41 6 +17 Staffordshire 21 15 -6 -28 Suffolk 10 14 4 +40 Surrey 19 10 -9 -47 Sussex 17 35 18 +106 Thames Valley 52 52 0 — Warwickshire 9 6 -3 -33 West Mercia 14 27 13 +93 West Midlands 81 104 23 +28 West Yorkshire 79 65 -14 -18 Wiltshire 20 17 -3 -15 Dyfed Powys 9 15 6 +67 Gwent 16 17 1 +6 North Wales 12 19 7 +58 South Wales 30 32 2 +7 England and Wales 1,170 1,433 263 +22
258W259W
Offences of indecent assault on a female recorded by the Police England and Wales 1979 1984 Change 1979–84 Police force area Number of offences Number Percentage Avon and Somerset 253 303 50 +20 Bedfordshire 154 127 -27 -18 Cambridgeshire 135 157 22 +16 Cheshire 173 139 -34 -20 Cleveland 135 131 -4 -3 Cumbria 65 71 6 +9 Derbyshire 226 200 -26 -12 Devon and Cornwall 293 270 -23 -8 Dorset 129 78 -51 -40 Durham 120 137 17 -14 Essex 292 269 -23 -8 Gloucestershire 119 62 -57 -48 Greater Manchester 726 612 -114 -16 Hampshire 449 368 -81 -18 Hertfordshire 162 165 3 +2 Humberside 335 312 -23 -7 Kent 294 248 -46 -16 Lancashire 273 227 -46 -17 Leicestershire 184 169 -15 -8
1979 1984 Change 1979–84 Police force area Number of offences Number Percentage Lincolnshire 126 107 -19 -15 London, City of 12 15 3 +25 Merseyside 294 354 60 +20 Metropolitan Police 1,693 1,735 42 +2 Norfolk 104 119 15 +14 Northamptonshire 110 104 -6 -6 Northumbria 395 369 -26 -7 North Yorkshire 104 100 -4 -4 Nottinghamshire 553 359 -194 -35 South Yorkshire 394 278 -116 -29 Staffordshire 207 232 25 +12 Suffolk 103 93 -10 -10 Surrey 161 190 29 +18 Sussex 293 222 -71 -24 Thames Valley 374 359 -15 -4 Warwickshire 86 92 6 +7 West Mercia 176 220 44 +25 West Midlands 805 788 -17 -2 West Yorkshire 543 533 -10 -2 Wiltshire 147 101 -46 -31 Dyfed Powys 109 50 -59 -54 Gwent 114 100 -14 -12 North Wales 172 111 -61 -36 South Wales 242 161 -81 -34 England and Wales 11,834 10,837 -997 -8
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the clear-up rate for each police force area in each year since 1979 for the offence involving robbery, rape or violent assault against women.
§ Mr. MellorThe following table gives clear-up rates for recorded offences of rape, indecent assault on a female and robbery in aggregate for the period 1979 to 1984. Annual clear-up figures are subject to wide variation and may be misleading.
260W
Clear up rates for certain offences recorded by the Police—by Police Force Area, 1979–84 England and Wales Percentage of recorded offences cleared up Police force area Rape Indecent assault on a female Robbery Avon and Somerset 77 66 32 Bedfordshire 69 49 31 Cambridgeshire 72 66 41 Cheshire 84 82 53 Cleveland 72 65 46 Cumbria 83 75 55 Derbyshire 84 80 48 Devon and Cornwall 82 73 41 Dorset 75 61 41 Durham 77 74 54 Essex 78 59 45 Gloucestershire 48 65 39 Greater Manchester 72 67 31 Hampshire 60 61 36 Hertfordshire 76 63 57 Humberside 74 65 37 Kent 72 63 46 Lancashire 88 70 50 Leicestershire 83 69 44 Lincolnshire 84 76 54 London City of 67 37 24
Police force area Rape Indecent assault on a female Robbery Merseyside 64 43 20 Metropolitan Police 56 34 16 Norfolk 69 74 51 Northamptonshire 70 72 44 Northumbria 73 53 37 North Yorkshire 87 71 49 Nottinghamshire 66 66 32 South Yorkshire 86 70 43 Staffordshire 84 75 48 Suffolk 91 71 48 Surrey 66 62 39 Sussex 64 68 40 Thames Valley 71 62 42 Warwickshire 78 70 53 West Mercia 88 77 53 West Midlands 57 43 27 West Yorkshire 76 65 39 Wiltshire 74 68 32 Dyfed Powys 91 89 79 Gwent 92 82 60 North Wales 65 71 41 South Wales 91 75 49 England and Wales 69 60 25
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing how many in the 71 to 80-year-old age group in England and Wales had hospital treatment after being mugged or robbed; and how many people became immobile as a result of the injuries they received over the past 10 years.
§ Mr. MellorThe information requested is not available.
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parents were prosecuted in each of the last 10 years in respect of offences allegedly committed 261W by their children; how many parents did not pay fines imposed following convictions; and if he will publish figures for the average fines imposed for particular categories of offences.
§ Mr. MellorThe recording of these cases may be imcomplete in the information available to me which is given in the table. More detailed information for indictable offences in 1982 and 1984 is published in table 7C of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1984" (Cmnd. 9621), and provisional information for the period July 1983 to June 1984 was included in table 5 of Home Office "Statistical Bulletin", issue 12/85. Details of amounts of fines are published annually in "Criminal Statistics England and Wales, Supplementary Tables" (in the issue for 1984 in volume 4, table S4.4(a) (age of offender) and table S4.4(b) (offence)).
Parent or guardian ordered to pay fine for indictable and summary (excluding motoring) offences at all courts in England and Wales and persons received into prison for default of payment Number of persons 1982 1983 1984 Parent or guardian ordered to pay 700 4,350 6,500 Parent or guardian received into prison in default of payment 6 2 2
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing, for England and Wales over the past 10 years, the number of people convicted of offences involving (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) robbery and (d) mugging, who (i) were given a custodial sentence, (ii) served the full length of a custodial sentence, (iii) were given a suspended sentence and (iv) were subsequently convicted of further offences after completion of the first sentence.
§ Mr. MellorInformation on sentences for offences of murder, rape or robbery is published annually under offence classifications 1, 19 and 34 respectively in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables" in volume 1, table s1.1(A) for magistrates courts and in volume 2, table s2.1(A) for Crown Courts. These statistics 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 information requested on subsequent convictions could be provided, in the form requested, only at disproportionate cost. However, estimates of the reconviction rates for those given custodial sentences for selected types of offence and discharged from custody in 1981 are published in table 8(h) of "Prison Statistics, England and Wales 1984" (Cmnd. 9622). Reconviction rates for a sample of persons convicted in 1971 of selected types of offence are published in table 3.1 of "Previous Convictions, Sentence and Reconviction", Home Office research study No. 53. Information on those convicted of 262W murder who were subsequently convicted of homicide is published in table 8.10 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1984". (Cmnd. 9621.)
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes involving mugging, theft, murder or rape were committed and recorded in Wales and England over the past 10 years (a) by the 14 to 16 year age group, (b) by the 17 to 20 year age group, (c) by the 21 to 25 year age group, (d) by the 26 to 30 year age group, (e) by the 31 to 35 year age group and (f) by the 36 to 45 year age group;
(2) if he will publish a table showing (a) how many people in the 40 to 50-year-old age group in England and Wales were mugged and robbed by the 14 to 16-year-old age group, (b) how many in the 51 to 60-year-old age group were mugged and robbed by the 16 to 20-year-old age group, (c) how many in the 61 to 70-year-old age group were mugged and robbed by the 16 to 20-year-old age group, (d) how many in the 71 to 80-year-old age group were mugged and robbed by the 14 to 25-year-old age group, (e) how many in the 40 to 50-year-old age group had hospital treatment after bring mugged or robbed and (f) how many in the 61 to 70-year-old age group had hospital treatment after being mugged or robbed over the past 10 years.
§ Mr. MellorThe age of the offender is known only when found guilty or cautioned by the police. The available information on findings of guilt and cautions is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (Cmnd. 9621) and in the associated supplementary tables. For 1984, details of persons found guilty by age group are published in supplementary tables volume 4, table S4.1(A), under offence classifications 1, 19, 34 and 39-54; corresponding information for persons cautioned is published in table S4.1(C). Information on the ages (and other characteristics) of victims of robbery is not regularly collected centrally.
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were prosecuted for offences related to robbery or mugging committed in the Cardiff, West constituency in each of the last 10 years;
(2) how many of the robberies or muggings committed in the Cardiff, West constituency in each of the last 10 years were committed by people in the 14 to 25 age group;
(3) how many of those convicted for robbery or mugging in the Cardiff, West constituency in each of the past 10 years have been (a) given a custodial sentence, (b) given a suspended sentence, (c) fined and (d) given a community service order.
§ Mr. MellorThe available information, which may be incomplete, is given in the table. The age of offenders can be given only where there has been a finding of guilt. To produce corresponding figures for earlier years would involve disproportionate cost.
263W
Persons proceeded against for offences of robbery at Cardiff Petty Sessional Division or Crown Court Number of persons Year Proceeded against All ages Found guilty Fine Community service order Fully suspended sentence Immediate custody Aged 14-25 Found guilty 1979 22 20 — 2 — 20 16 1980 52 16 — — 1 15 13 1981 53 51 — 3 2 41 38 1982 66 42 — — 5 38 23 1983 51 31 — — — 31 21 1984 40 40 — 1 — 32 29