§ Mr. HanleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on (i) the incidence of crime committed by children between(a) the age groups of five to 11 years and (b) 12 to 16 years, (ii) the time at which these crimes are committed; immediately after school hours, during school hours and during weekends and holidays and (iii) an analysis of the crimes committed together with regional variations.
§ Mr. John PattenThe earliest age at which a juvenile can be brought to court in criminal proceedings is 10 years. Information on the number of persons in the age groups 10–13 and 14–16 proceeded against at magistrates courts and the Crown court can be found in the "Criminal Statistics England and Wales 1988", supplementary volumes 1 and 2, tables SI.1(B), S2.1(B) and S1.1(C), S2.1(C), analysed by offence, sex and court disposal. Supplementary volumes 3 and 5 give a further breakdown by police force area, commission of the peace area and petty sessional division. Copies of these volumes may be found in the Library.
Data on the times and dates when offences occur are not collected centrally.