HC Deb 09 May 1996 vol 277 cc250-9W
Mr. Alex Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the conviction rates in cases involving a plea of not guilty for each police authority in each of the last five years in (i) violent crime, (ii) car crime, and (iii) other serious crime; and if he will make a statement. [28228]

Mr. Maclean

[holding answer 8 May 1996]: Information regarding plea data is not available.

Mr. Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on conviction rates across England and Wales. [28234]

Mr. Maclean

[holding answer 8 May 1996]: Information is published annually in the Command Paper "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" on the number of prosecutions and convictions, from which the conviction rate can be calculated. Copies of the Command Paper are in the Library.

Mr. Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the(a) crime clear-up and (b) conviction rates for each police authority area in each of the last five years in (i) violent crime, (ii) car crime, and (iii) other serious crime; and if he will make a statement. [28229]

Mr. Maclean

[holding answer 8 May 1996]: The available information is given in the following tables. Information on conviction rates for 1995 will not be available until the autumn.

Table 1: Clear-up rates for violent crime1 by police force area 1991–95
Police force area 1991 1992 1993 1994 [...]
Lincolnshire 93 83 84 83 [...]
City of London 66 43 38 66 [...]
Merseyside 58 56 56 55 [...]
Metropolitan Police 46 44 47 50 48
Norfolk 83 82 79 83 74
Northamptonshire 75 79 81 88 79
Northumbria 71 65 68 67 64
North Yorkshire 88 91 86 79 80
Nottinghamshire 71 68 68 67 72
South Yorkshire 79 79 69 74 71
Staffordshire 83 83 79 84 83
Suffolk 83 87 80 88 86
Surrey 77 72 75 83 80
Sussex 65 70 65 62 73
Thames Valley 69 68 73 69 72
Warwickshire 77 80 78 82 81
West Mercia 87 85 84 82 79
West Midlands 65 60 55 51 45
West Yorkshire 74 77 68 70 68
Wiltshire 2104 94 94 94 91
Dyfed-Powys 91 94 96 96 94
Gwent 90 91 91 91 92
North Wales 90 89 90 90 89
South Wales 83 82 81 73 74
England and Wales 68 66 65 66 65
1 Includes the notifiable offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.
2 Offences cleared up in current year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year.
Table 2: Clear-up rates for vehicle crime1 by police force area 1991–95
Police force area 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Avon and Somerset 14 7 7 10 9
Bedfordshire 10 10 10 13 11
Cambridgeshire 32 14 13 13 7
Cheshire 27 15 12 13 12
Cleveland 32 27 24 12 14
Cumbria 27 21 22 26 28
Derbyshire 16 12 10 11 8
Devon and Cornwall 16 8 12 14 13
Dorset 39 16 15 14 10
Durham 18 19 17 18 19
Essex 25 16 20 26 21
Gloucestershire 16 12 8 9 13
Greater Manchester 31 29 29 27 17
Hampshire 16 14 12 13 13
Hertfordshire 23 17 14 13 20
Humberside 23 16 9 8 9
Kent 10 13 13 14 10
Lancashire 36 25 26 22 23
Leicestershire 22 24 22 23 18
Lincolnshire 34 26 26 22 28
City of London 11 7 13 21 9
Merseyside 42 43 34 25 15
Metropolitan Police 6 6 5 8 10
Norfolk 34 26 17 22 19
Northamptonshire 30 28 19 21 19
Northumbria 34 8 11 16 16
North Yorkshire 24 19 17 13 10
Nottinghamshire 17 16 21 22 12
South Yorkshire 31 18 11 14 14
Staffordshire 31 24 23 23 22
Suffolk 24 20 15 17 15
Surrey 14 15 10 16 23
Sussex 9 9 10 10 17
Thames Valley 12 11 12 13 15
Warwickshire 15 15 13 13 16
West Mercia 26 25 18 19 13
West Midlands 26 22 21 19 18
West Yorkshire 22 18 9 10 11
Wiltshire 23 19 16 18 14
Dyfed-Powys 45 37 35 38 42
Table 2: Clear-up rates for vehicle crime1 by police force area 1991–95
Police force area 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Gwent 33 23 29 29 29
North Wales 25 21 25 24 18
South Wales 26 26 24 18 26
England and Wales 21 17 15 16 15
1 Includes the notifiable offences of theft from a vehicle, theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and aggravated vehicle taking.
Table 3: Clear-up rates for other serious crime1 by police force area 1991–95
Police force area 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Avon and Somerset 25 19 19 22 25
Bedfordshire 22 22 23 23 25
Cambridgeshire 34 28 26 24 20
Cheshire 43 31 28 32 34
Cleveland 31 31 26 20 26
Cumbria 42 39 40 36 39
Derbyshire 28 22 20 21 21
Devon and Cornwall 30 19 27 28 29
Dorset 40 35 36 33 30
Durham 32 31 32 33 31
Essex 31 31 34 37 34
Gloucestershire 41 27 23 27 28
Greater Manchester 37 37 35 35 25
Hampshire 30 27 27 28 29
Hertfordshire 35 26 22 26 28
Humberside 31 22 16 17 19
Kent 26 29 27 30 29
Lancashire 40 40 38 36 37
Leicestershire 28 29 27 28 29
Lincolnshire 45 39 36 31 37
City of London 20 21 22 26 24
Merseyside 44 41 39 34 28
Metropolitan Police 18 17 18 24 24
Norfolk 35 34 29 35 32
Northamptonshire 28 27 27 30 28
Northumbria 34 18 20 22 23
North Yorkshire 37 34 32 26 25
Nottinghamshire 27 26 29 26 22
South Yorkshire 35 27 21 25 25
Staffordshire 35 28 27 28 30
Suffolk 38 40 39 35 35
Surrey 23 21 20 30 29
Sussex 25 26 27 27 28
Thames Valley 24 21 23 24 24
Warwickshire 26 24 22 26 25
West Mercia 35 34 29 29 30
West Midlands 30 26 27 25 25
West Yorkshire 27 25 19 21 22
Wiltshire 40 37 36 36 32
Dyfed-Powys 46 51 48 49 54
Gwent 48 47 46 49 52
North Wales 35 32 34 38 32
South Wales 27 28 26 23 26
England and Wales 30 27 26 27 27
1 All notifiable offences excluding violent crime, vehicle crime and criminal damage under £20.
Table 4: Conviction rates for indictable violent crime1 offences by police force area 1990–94
Police force area 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Avon and Somerset 52 47 40 38 40
Bedfordshire 51 45 41 38 44
Cambridgeshire 58 54 54 52 45
Cheshire 71 67 62 63 63
Cleveland 63 55 49 45 45
Cumbria 71 69 65 62 60
Derbyshire 68 61 57 52 44
Devon and Cornwall 77 65 67 57 52
Dorset 63 54 55 60 51
Durham 53 54 52 54 54
Table 4: Conviction rates for indictable violent crime1 offences by police force area 1990–94
Police force area 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Essex 60 52 47 49 42
Gloucestershire 66 53 54 48 48
Greater Manchester 64 60 54 54 49
Hampshire 66 60 56 55 54
Hertfordshire 66 52 41 41 38
Humberside 68 67 67 61 61
Kent 79 75 68 59 56
Lancashire 69 64 66 54 56
Leicestershire 66 62 56 50 43
Lincolnshire 69 58 63 56 61
City of London 57 57 50 56 51
Merseyside 48 42 38 39 35
Metropolitan Police 62 55 49 38 40
Norfolk 68 72 75 66 71
Northamptonshire 57 49 49 43 36
Northumbria 58 56 52 51 51
North Yorkshire 69 59 59 57 55
Nottinghamshire 59 51 49 44 36
South Yorkshire 64 59 56 54 51
Staffordshire 53 53 47 45 46
Suffolk 65 65 58 61 55
Surrey 62 55 49 46 45
Sussex 61 57 50 51 47
Thames Valley 62 53 55 51 45
Warwickshire 75 74 68 64 60
West Mercia 69 67 58 59 55
West Midlands 62 56 51 51 51
West Yorkshire 68 60 54 54 48
Wiltshire 66 63 57 51 49
Dyfed-Powys 56 54 52 44 40
Gwent 56 54 56 47 53
North Wales 71 68 57 57 54
South Wales 56 54 46 48 44
England and Wales 62 57 53 49 47
1 Includes the indictable offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.
Indictable offences only have been used as nearest equivalent to notifiable offences.
Table 5: Conviction rates for indictable vehicle crime1 offences by police force area 1990–94
Police force area 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Avon and Somerset 57 54 50 50 62
Bedfordshire 65 50 62 39 54
Cambridgeshire 58 62 53 53 39
Cheshire 73 63 53 69 66
Cleveland 61 57 50 58 50
Cumbria 77 61 60 73 70
Derbyshire 56 59 57 56 60
Devon and Cornwall 82 67 63 65 62
Dorset 65 68 59 55 70
Durham 63 49 51 52 50
Essex 64 59 54 47 54
Gloucestershire 66 64 51 53 57
Greater Manchester 80 69 62 74 57
Hampshire 71 66 63 63 65
Hertfordshire 67 65 53 50 48
Humberside 77 73 64 67 72
Kent 79 74 75 71 67
Lancashire 76 72 74 67 64
Leicestershire 72 60 58 55 53
Lincolnshire 81 81 69 68 71
City of London 67 2106 35 100 62
Merseyside 36 41 42 59 56
Metropolitan Police 69 63 58 61 64
Norfolk 83 82 80 68 89
Northamptonshire 62 58 50 57 62
Northumbria 61 54 54 62 57
North Yorkshire 75 58 64 58 67
Nottinghamshire 62 53 52 55 60
South Yorkshire 68 72 64 65 63
Staffordshire 49 52 41 57 64
Suffolk 78 69 57 74 71
Table 5: Conviction rates for indictable vehicle crime1 offences by police force area 1990–94
Police force area 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Surrey 57 55 50 60 51
Sussex 74 63 61 56 62
Thames Valley 67 51 55 58 63
Warwickshire 82 60 54 47 53
West Mercia 61 57 56 52 58
West Midlands 53 47 44 53 52
West Yorkshire 64 62 55 57 54
Wiltshire 81 66 76 82 74
Dyfed-Powys 78 62 47 61 54
Gwent 65 55 54 54 50
North Wales 82 79 62 64 66
South Wales 57 59 49 63 60
England and Wales 66 61 56 60 59
1 Includes the indictable offences of theft from a vehicle, theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and aggravated vehicle taking.
2 Will include persons proceeded against in earlier years or for other offences.
Table 6: Conviction rates for indictable other serious crime1 offences by police force area 1990–94
Police force area 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Avon and Somerset 69 68 67 60 60
Bedfordshire 67 66 64 61 64
Cambridgeshire 77 72 73 69 64
Cheshire 81 75 75 76 76
Cleveland 74 67 64 63 67
Cumbria 82 78 76 75 75
Derbyshire 77 70 70 67 68
Devon and Cornwall 83 74 74 72 68
Dorset 76 70 69 73 68
Durham 69 65 66 67 66
Essex 72 65 67 66 65
Gloucestershire 68 71 67 66 67
Greater Manchester 82 82 79 81 71
Hampshire 75 71 72 69 71
Hertfordshire 78 67 64 65 63
Humberside 80 78 76 75 75
Kent 86 90 85 81 82
Lancashire 76 77 79 71 71
Leicestershire 72 69 68 63 61
Lincolnshire 80 71 77 75 78
City of London 69 68 61 66 65
Merseyside 71 69 65 68 64
Metropolitan Police 84 78 75 68 68
Norfolk 88 83 86 87 88
Northamptonshire 71 69 63 65 62
Northumbria 74 68 67 67 63
North Yorkshire 76 71 68 71 71
Nottinghamshire 73 67 67 66 66
South Yorkshire 77 74 70 70 68
Staffordshire 71 70 68 66 65
Suffolk 78 74 72 71 71
Surrey 72 70 67 67 66
Sussex 76 72 73 70 69
Thames Valley 74 68 66 65 62
Warwickshire 84 79 69 69 68
West Mercia 77 77 73 71 69
West Midlands 74 68 63 63 63
West Yorkshire 75 72 66 63 63
Wiltshire 77 74 74 75 74
Dyfed-Powys 70 68 66 67 60
Gwent 70 68 72 66 69
North Wales 81 83 70 70 72
South Wales 70 69 66 66 66
England and Wales 77 73 71 69 68
1 Includes the indictable offences excluding violent and car crime offences as in tables above.
Indictable offences only have been used as nearest equivalent to notifiable offences.

Mr. Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his definitions of(a) crime clear-up rates and (b) conviction rates. [28230]

Mr. Maclean

[holding answer 8 May 1996]: The clear-up rate is the number of offences cleared up as a percentage of the number of offences recorded, excluding offences of criminal damage value £20 and under. The conviction rate is the number of convictions at all courts as a percentage of prosecutions.

Mr. Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the changes made to the crime clear-up rates statistical methodology over the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [28238]

Mr. Maclean

[holding answer 8 May 1996]: There have ben no changes to the statistical methodology for clear-up rates. Since 1994, the Home Office has adopted the Audit Commission definitions of primary and secondary clear-ups, but this has no effect on the number of offences cleared up or on the overall clear-up rate. The definitions are given in note 4 of Home Office statistical bulletin 3/96, a copy of which is available in the Library.