HC Deb 24 July 1986 vol 102 cc389-93W
Mr. Kilroy Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number and proportion of prisoners from different ethnic groups received into custody between July 1984 and March 1985, broken down

Receptions into prison department establishments under sentence* in the period 1 July 1984 to 31 March 1985; by ethnic origin, offence group and number of previous convictions; all ages, males
England and Wales Per cent.
Ethnic Origin
Offence Group/Number of previous convictions White West Indian/Guyanese, African Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi Chinese, Arab, Mixed Origin Other, Not recorded (including refusal) All Males
Wounding
Nil 5 5 13 8 6 5
One or two 16 16 21 17 16 16
Three or more 63 58 33 49 46 61
Not recorded 16 21 33 26 32 18
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 4,478 371 108 92 97 5,146
Other offences of violence against the person
Nil 6 6 10 18 5 6
One or two 14 13 24 7 14 14
Three or more 58 55 31 51 60 57
Not recorded 22 26 35 24 21 23
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 1,784 234 29 60 50 2,157
Sexual offences
Nil 15 8 10 13 7 18
One or two 17 12 19 10 17
Three or more 46 55 42 75 43 46
Not recorded 22 25 29 12 40 23
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 1,076 67 31 8 21 1,203
Burglary
Nil 3 2 13 5 2 3
One or two 12 12 25 11 9 12
Three or more 72 63 47 71 68 72
Not recorded 13 23 15 13 21 13
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent) 14,020 662 142 224 268 15,316
Robbery
Nil 6 10 17 4 6 7
One or two 17 21 40 22 22 19
Three or more 61 44 33 47 45 56
Not recorded 16 25 10 27 27 18
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent) 1,930 334 39 51 54 1,408
Theft and handling
Nil 4 3 12 3 4 4
One or two 10 11 19 13 9 10

by sex and by different offence group, who had (a) no previous convictions, (b) one or two previous convictions and (c) three or more previous convictions.

Mr. Mellor

The information available for males is given in the table. It should be noted that for many categories this information is to a substantial extent incomplete and where the numbers involved are small the figures may be subject to wide variation. The numbers of females involved are too small to provide satisfactory figures, as may be seen from table 9 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 17/86.

Ethnic Origin
Offence Group/Number of previous convictions White West Indian/Guyanese, African Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi Chinese, Arab, Mixed Origin Other, Not recorded (including refusal) All Males
Three or more 68 58 33 58 61 67
Not recorded 18 28 36 26 26 19
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 12,523 811 162 192 223 13,921
Fraud and forgery
Nil 6 6 18 3 10 6
One or two 11 13 19 18 11 12
Three or more 59 48 28 59 43 57
Not recorded 24 33 35 20 36 25
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 1,993 133 55 31 47 2,259
Criminal damage (including arson)
Nil 6 8 3 5 6 6
One or two 14 13 35 10 15 15
Three or more 58 50 41 61 58 57
Not recorded 22 29 21 24 21 22
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 2,447 83 27 40 35 2,632
Drugs offences
Nil 8 28 29 19 12 14
One or two 15 10 26 17 20 15
Three or more 57 33 16 28 42 48
Not recorded 20 29 29 36 26 23
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 1,294 365 135 60 56 1,910
Other specified offences
Nil 3 6 11 7 2 3
One or two 7 7 16 3 3 7
Three or more 65 59 51 66 63 65
Not recorded 25 28 22 24 32 25
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 2,491 136 54 30 45 2,756
Other unspecified offences
Nil 5 11 28 14 9 7
One or two 12 16 16 5 11 12
Three or more 60 48 22 52 49 58
Not recorded 23 25 34 29 31 23
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 2,118 194 55 38 53 2,458
All offences
Nil 4 7 16 7 5 5
One or two 12 13 23 12 11 12
Three or more 66 54 33 58 58 64
Not recorded 18 26 28 23 26 19
Number of receptions† (= 100 per cent.) 45,664 3,390 837 826 949 51,666
* Excluding line defaulters
† As published in Table 8 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin 17/86

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number and proportion of prisoners from different ethnic groups in prison on 30 June 1985, broken down by sex and by different offence groups, who had (a) no previous convictions, (b) one or two previous convictions and (c) three or more previous convictions.

Mr. Mellor

Analyses of the prison population on 30 June 1985 by ethnic origin and type of offence are currently being prepared for inclusion in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales, 1985". On publication, my noble Friend will write to the hon. Member giving the additional in formation requested.

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