§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) criminal complaints and (b) informal non-criminal complaints were made against the British Army based in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Germany in each of the last four years. [56399]
§ Mr. Doug Henderson[holding answer 3 November 1998]: The information is as follows:
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland complaints against the Army are categorised as criminal or non-criminal; non-criminal complaints are categorised as formal or informal.In his annual report in 1994, the Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures in Northern Ireland recommended that non-criminal complaints should be informally resolved at local level wherever possible.215WThe Royal Ulster Constabulary records show that during the last four years the following criminal complaints have been investigated, but were not necessarily substantiated.
Criminal complaints Year Total 1995 8 1996 15 1997 58 1998 114 1 Figures as at 30 June 1998 The number of formal non-criminal complaints is given in the table.
Formal non-criminal complaints Year Total 1995 21 1996 24 1997 70 1998 141 1 Figures as at 30 June 1998 The number of these formal non-criminal complaints that were substantiated is as follows:
Substantiated formal non-criminal complaints Year Total 1995 2 1996 1 1997 3 1998 fault both sides 12 substantiated 1 1 New category introduced The number of informal non-criminal complaints in the past four years is given in the table.
Informal non-criminal complaints Year Total 1995 41 1996 264 1997 590 1998 1344 1 Figures are as at 30 June 1998 Germany
Records held by the Police Advisory Branch, Dusseldorf, show that during the last four years the following number of criminal complaints against the British Army in Germany have been investigated.
Year Total 1995 1,424 1996 1,212 1997 1,166 1998 1,079 1 As at 31 October 1998 Records of informal non-criminal complaints against the British Army in Germany over the last four years are not held.