HC Deb 05 March 1990 vol 168 cc464-5W
Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police units are trained especially for domestic violence in each police force in England and Wales.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Information on such units is not collected centrally. We understand that there are 33 units in the Metropolitan police specifically dedicated to dealing with domestic violence, eight in the West Yorkshire police and one in the Northumbria police. Officers in these units have received basic training, which provides some guidance on dealing with domestic violence, and there are also opportunities for officers to attend specialist courses or seminars.

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports were made to police in each force area of England and Wales of domestic violence in each of the past 15 years; and how many resulted in(a) a charge, (b) a prosecution and (c) a conviction.

Mr. John Patten

Information on notifiable offences of violence against the person is published annually in table 2.8 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales". Regular information on domestic violence is not reported separately to this Department by police forces in England and Wales. However, detailed information on homicide is presented in chapter 4 of the above publication. Some incomplete information was published in "Criminal Statistics" in 1979 and 1980. In addition, results obtained from a special survey of violent crime recorded by the police and from the 1988 British crime survey were published in Home Office research bulletin No. 27. There is also some information in chapter 7 of "Domestic Violence" Home Office research study 107. Copies of all these publications are available in the Library. Information on prosecutions and convictions is not collected in sufficient detail to distinguish domestic violence.

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what improvements have been made since 1985 in data collection on domestic violence.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Data on domestic violence are not collated centrally. We are considering recommending to chief officers that where they do not already collect data on the incidence of domestic violence in their area, they should do so.

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken in the last 12 months, following the Women's National Commission's 1985 recommendation that a circular be issued by his Department to give guidance and encouragement to chief constables to review training and procedures on the handling of cases of domestic violence.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

A circular was issued in October 1986 in response to the Women's National Commission's recommendations. During the past 12 months we have reviewed police procedures in relation to domestic violence, and we expect to issue a revised circular within the next few months.