HC Deb 19 March 1986 vol 94 cc198-9W
Sir Gerard Vaughan

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many indictable offences were recorded in Reading in 1978 and in the latest year for which figures are available, respectively.

Mr. Mellor

The information collected centrally relates to police force areas and is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (tables 2.4 and 2.5 of the issue for 1984, Cmnd. 9621) and Home Office "Statistical Bulletins" (table 6 of issue No. 4/86). Comparisons with years prior to 1980 can be misleading because of changes in the counting rules from the beginning of 1980. Thames Valley police force recorded 74,400 notifiable offences in 1980 and 109,100 in 1985.