§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in England and Wales have been murdered in the course of duty during each of the past 10 years.
§ Mr. MellorIn a case of homicide it is not possible in the absence of a court decision to distinguish between offences of murder and manslaughter. The available information is given in the following table.
Four were charged with working in breach of conditions (2 Ghanaians and 2 Nigerians);Three were formally cautioned for working in breach of conditions (2 Ghanaians and 1 Nigerian); andThree were found not to be in breach of the immigration laws (1 British citizen, 1 Ghanaian and 1 Nigerian).The seven illegal entrants who had been detected at the hotel, and who were taken initially to the police station, were all transferred to the Harmondsworth detention centre during the evening of 20 June. Three remained there until their removal or voluntary departure from the United Kingdom, whilst the other four were transferred to Latchmere house remand centre on 22 June (in three cases transfer was via the Queen's building detention centre). The total periods spent in detention in these cases were: 4, 8, 11, 12, 19, 26 and 32 days respectively.
In the other cases the periods spent in custody, all at Vine street police station, were:
- 4 hours or less: 1
- Over 4 but under 6 hours: 2
- Over 6 but under 9 hours: 2
- Over 9 but under 15 hours: 5
This operation was conducted in accordance with the recommendations of Home Office circular 131–1980, of which a copy was placed in the Library in December 1980.