§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how women victims of sexual and physical violence are encouraged to report the offence to the police.
§ Mr. Peter LloydPolice procedures and facilities for the reception and treatment of victims of physical and sexual violence have improved greatly in recent years. We believe that the increase in reported rape over the same period is in part attributable to changes in police practice in this respect. In the light of recent Home Office guidance, many forces are now taking practical steps to provide a better service to victims of domestic violence, with a view to encouraging more women to report such incidents to them.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines there are on how victims of sexual and physical abuse should be treated by the police.
§ Mr. Peter LloydHome Office guidance to the police on the treatment of victims of rape and domestic violence was issued in 1986. A revised and expanded circular on domestic violence was produced in July 1990. Additional guidance for the police on the investigation of child sexual abuse will be issued in conjunction with the Department of Health's revised "Working Together" in the autumn. Copies of the current guidance are in the Library.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how data on women victims of sexual and physical abuse are collected; and how it is made available.
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§ Mr. John PattenStatistics of recorded violent offences are collected by the police and published quarterly in a Home Office statistical bulletin and annually in Chapter 2 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales". More detailed information on women victims of physical and sexual abuse is not collected on a regular basis but ad hoc analysis of police statistics, the British crime survey and other research studies classify offences by gender of victim. This information is made available either in ad hoc statistical bulletins such as Issue 29/86 "Violent Crime: Characteristics of victims and circumstances of recorded offences 1984", or in Home Office Research Studies such as "Personal Violence" HORS 89,"Changes in Rape Offences and Sentencing" HORS 105, "Concerns about Rape" Hors 106 and "Domestic Violence" HORS 107. Copies of all these publications are available in the Library.
Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados and Jamaica admitted to, and refused leave to enter and removed from, the United Kingdom. 1990 1991 November December January February March Trinidad and Tobago Total admitted1 1,150 1,230 1,100 800 1,100 Total refused leave to enter and removed 10 8 7 13 7 Guyana Total admitted1 400 400 300 300 400 Total refused leave to enter and removed 5 8 3 4 6 Barbados Total admitted1 400 400 400 300 400 Total refused leave to enter and removed 2 5 5 3 2 Jamaica Total admitted1 1,900 2,080 1,700 1,300 1,700 Total refused leave to enter and removed 52 33 33 32 37 1 The data for January to March 1991 are provisional.