§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of crimes were668W carried out in each police authority in Scotland by people under the age of (a) 20 and (b) 16 years in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [21275]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonInformation is not collected centrally on the estimated age of offenders responsible for recorded crimes. Information is collected on the age of offenders convicted in the criminal courts. This could not, however, be relied on to provide an answer to the question, as not all recorded crimes are cleared up by the police and most persons under 16, and some persons aged 16 and 17, suspected of offending are not prosecuted but are referred to the reporter to the children's panel.