§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to police authorities on whether incidents of criminal damage or violence should be recorded as crimes.
§ Mr. MacleanWhen recording offences, police consult Home Office rules for classification and counting of crimes which are standard for all the police forces in England and Wales. The classification of crimes is determined by precise statutory definitions. It includes all offences of criminal damage, as well as offences of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery, as defined in Appendix 3 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1993", a copy of which is available in the Library.