§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will obtain and list in theOfficial
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Homicide offences recorded by the police from 1974 to 1987 involving the use of bombs or other explosives in England and Wales Year recorded and number of victims Terrorist organisation Incident Date of incident Number of suspects convicted of homicide 1974 12 Provisional IRA M62 bomb 4 February 1974 1 1 Provisional IRA Bomb in Tower of London 17 July 1974 — 5 Provisional IRA Guildford pub bomb 5 October 1974 14 2 Provisional IRA Woolwich pub bomb 7 November 1974 2 21 Provisional IRA Birmingham pub bomb 21 November 1974 6 1 Provisional IRA Bomb in telephone exchange, WC1 17 December 1974 — 1975 1 Provisional IRA Bomb in Coventry 14 November 1974 — 1 Provisional IRA Bomb in Church Street, Kensington 29 August 1975 24 2 Provisional IRA Hilton Hotel bomb 5 September 1975 24 1 Provisional IRA Green Park underground 9 October 1975 24 1 Provisional IRA Car bomb, London 23 October 1975 24 1 Provisional IRA Scotts restaurant bomb, London 12 November 1975 24 2 Provisional IRA Waltons restraurant bomb, London 18 November 1975 24 1976 1 Provisional IRA Olympia bomb 27 March 1976 — 1978 2 Middle Eastern Car bomb in London 31 December 1978 — 1979 1 INLA Car bomb, House of Commons 30 March 1979 — 1981 2 Provisional IRA Ebury Bridge Road barracks car bomb
10 October 1981 32 1 Provisional IRA Wimpy bar bomb, Oxford Street 26 October 1981 32 1982 7 Provisional IRA Regents Park bomb 20 July 1982 — 4 Provisional IRA Hyde Park bomb 20 July 1982 — 1983 6 Provisional IRA Harrods bomb 17 December 1983 — 1984 1 n.a. Letter bomb, Kent 21 May 1984 — 5 Provisional IRA Brighton bomb 12 October 1984 1 1987 1 Middle Eastern Video shop bomb, Kensington 19 August 1986 — 19884 1 Provisional IRA Inglis barracks, London 1 August 1988 — 1 Two of the four suspects were also convicted of the Woolwich pub bomb incident. 2 Four suspects convicted of six incidents. Report the dates and places of crimes using bombs or other explosive devices that have taken place in England and Wales resulting in death or personal injury; and if he will list the casualties and the number of convictions that have been secured for each year since 1974;
(2) if he will obtain and list in the Official Report the names of organisations and individuals who claimed responsibility for crimes using bombs or other explosive devices that have taken place in England and Wales resulting in death or personal injury for each year since 1974.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation is not available in the form requested. Information on offences of homicide involving the use of bombs or other explosive devices is given in the following table. Information on the number of personal injuries sustained as a result of offences involving explosive devices is not readily available and could be
263W3 Two suspects convicted of two incidents.
4 Provisional.
n.a. = Not available.
§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the number of convictions for murder, attempted murder and manslaughter respectively, for each year since 1958.
§ Mr. John PattenI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 29 July at columns200–201. In 1987, 166 persons were found guilty of murder, 50 of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and 214 of other manslaughter. Information in respect of the number of persons convicted of attempted murder is given in the following table.
Persons found guilty of attempted murder England and Wales Year Total found guilty 1958 37 1959 35 1960 40 1961 52 1962 30 1963 28 1964 35 1965 29 1966 50 1967 38 1968 46 1969 46 1970 46 1971 52 1972 29 1973 46 1974 52 1975 46 1976 42 1977 29 1978 30 1979 27 1980 34 1981 31 1982 40 1983 27 1984 30 1985 35 1986 35 1987 43
§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were convicted of crimes of violence in 1987; by what percentage this figure exceeds or is less than the comparable figure for each year since 1962; and if he has any indication of the trend of crimes of violence in the current year.
§ Mr. John Patten58,500 persons were found guilty of offences of violence in 1987. The table gives comparisons for the period 1979 to 1986. Figures for earlier years are
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Persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts of selected offences England and Wales Number of persons1 1986 1987 Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Females Basildon area2 Arson3 6 — 12 1 7 4 16 6 Cruelty to or neglect of children — — — 1 — — — — Cruelty to animals, etc. 2 — 2 — 8 2 4 2 not shown as they are not directly comparable owing to changes in counting procedures for courts proceedings which occurred at the beginning of 1979.
Statistics of notifiable offences recorded by the police, including offences of violence, are published quarterly; the most recent figures—for the year ending June 1988—were published in Home Office statistical bulletin issue 26/88, which is available in the Library.
Persons found guilty at all courts of offences of violence1 England and Wales 1979 101 1980 109 1981 106 1982 107 1983 106 1984 99 1985 99 1986 90 1987 2100 1 Comprises offences of violence against the person, sexual offences, and robbery. 2 1987 taken as the base year: 100=58,500.
§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many(a) males and (b) females have been (i) charged with and (ii) convicted of arson in each year from 1982 to the latest convenient date in (aa) England and Wales and (bb) the Basildon area;
(2) how many (a) males and (b) females have been (i) charged with and (ii) convicted of cruelty or neglect of children in each year since 1982 to the latest convenient date in (aa) England and Wales and (bb) the Basildon area;
(3) how many (a) males and (b) females have been (i) charged with and (ii) convicted of neglect of animals in each year from 1982 to the latest convenient date in (aa) England and Wales and (bb) the Basildon area;
(4) how many (a) males and (b) females have been (i) charged with and (ii) convicted of cruelty to horses, ponies or donkeys in each year since 1982 in (aa) England and Wales and (bb) the Basildon area.
§ Mr. John PattenThe readily available information is published annually in Volumes 1 and 2 of the supplementary tables to the "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", under offence classifications 56 (arson), 11 and 109 (cruelty to or neglect of children), and 108 (cruelty to animals). Particulars of the animals involved in offences of cruelty are not collected centrally.
Details in respect of the Basildon area are not available, but the following table gives information for, Billericay petty sessional divison and Chelmsford Crown court for 1986 and 1987. Comparable data for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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1986 1987 Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Females England and Wales Arson3 2,064 257 1,699 237 2,121 269 1,746 222 Cruelty to or neglect of children 80 101 59 68 71 77 68 76 Cruelty to animals, etc. 955 364 828 314 984 360 836 318 1 As shown by the records held centrally, which are approximate. 2 Billericay Magistrates' Court and Chelmsford Crown Court. The "found guilty" figures for arson exceed the proceedings figures because Chelmsford Crown Court tries cases from several Magistrates " Courts other than Billericay. 3 Offences of arson may be tried at the magistrates' courts or the Crown Court, and the figures for persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts are not precisely comparable with the figures for those found guilty at all courts. For the Basildon area the found guilty figures also include cases proceeded against at magistrates' courts other than Billericay from which Chelmsford Crown Court tries cases.
§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motoring offences were heard in magistrates' courts in(a) England and Wales and (b) the Basildon area in each of the past six years; and what proportion of all cases heard these figures represented.
Persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts for all offences and summary motoring offences England and Wales 1986–87 Numbers and percentages of persons All offences Summary motoring offences Number Percentage of all offences 1986 Petty Sessional Division of Billericay 7,456 4,604 62 England and Wales total 2,128,414 1,166,729 55 1987 Petty Sessional Division of Billericay 5,854 2,451 42 England and Wales total 1,814,230 829,135 46
§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mugging offences were reported in 1987; and what was the comparable figure for each year since 1980.
§ Mr. John PattenThe term "mugging" has no legal definition; the majority of offences of the type frequently referred to as "mugging" are recorded as offences of robbery. Information on offences of robbery recorded by the police is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (table 2.10 of the issue for 1987, Cm. 498).
§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the murder rate per million of the population in England and Wales between 1982 and 1987; what it was for the period from 1958 to 1963 on an annual basis; and if he will give similar figures for manslaughter;
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Offences currently1 recorded by the police as murder, Section 2 manslaughter and other manslaughter by type of offence and year England and Wales Year Number of offences Number of offences per million population Total Murder Section 2 manslaughter Other manslaughter Total Murder Section 2 manslaughter Other manslaughter England and Wales 1958–63 1958 255 26 29 n/a 21.21 0.58 0.64 n/a 1959 265 44 21 n/a 21.43 0.97 0.46 n/a 1960 272 41 31 n/a 21.57 0.90 0.68 n/a 1961 268 38 30 n/a 21.47 0.82 0.65 n/a 1962 280 38 42 n/a 21.71 0.81 0.90 n/a 1963 294 38 56 n/a 22.00 0.81 1.19 n/a Total 2434 225 209 — 21.57 0.81 0.76 —
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe information that could be provided without disproportionate cost is given in the table. From 1986, it has been published in table 13 of Volume 5 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables". The fall in proceedings for motoring offences in 1987 reflects the extension of fixed penalties in October 1986.
(2) what was the murder rate per thousand of the population in (a) England and Wales and (b) the Basildon area between 1982 and 1987; what it was in the period from 1958 to 1963 on an annual basis; and if he will give similar figures for manslaughter.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation is not available in the form requested. The number of offences decided by the court to be murder or manslaughter are published annually in table 42 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales," copies of which are available in the Library; the figures for 1958 to 1963 and 1982 to 1987 are given in the following table. Information on homicides in the Basildon area are not available but for 1982 to 1987 figures for the Essex police force area are included; corresponding figures for the years 1958 to 1963 can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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Year Number of offences Number of offences per million population Total Murder Section 2 manslaughter Other manslaughter Total Murder Section 2 manslaughter Other manslaughter Essex Police Force Area 1982–87 1982 9 5 2 2 6.37 3.54 1.41 1.41 1983 4 — 2 2 2.81 — 1.41 1.41 1984 12 4 4 4 8.41 2.80 2.80 2.80 1985 14 7 1 6 9.76 4.88 0.70 4.18 1986 12 6 3 3 8.32 4.16 2.08 2.08 1987 7 3 2 2 4.82 2.06 1.38 1.38 Total 58 25 14 19 6.75 2.91 1.63 2.21 England and Wales 1982–87 1982 428 160 108 160 8.63 3.23 2.18 3.23 1983 384 152 83 149 7.73 3.06 1.67 3.00 1984 428 165 85 178 8.60 3.32 1.71 3.58 1985 417 168 75 174 8.35 3.37 1.50 3.49 1986 451 204 79 168 9.01 4.07 1.58 3.35 1987 284 111 55 118 5.65 2.21 1.09 2.35 Total 2,392 960 485 947 7.99 3.21 1.62 3.16 1 As at 1 June 1988. "Section 2" Manslaughter is when the only/principal defence is diminished responsibility. 2 Not including offences initially classified as manslaughter. n/a Not available—before 1967 information was not collected for offences initially classified as manslaughter.