§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for drug-related crime on Merseyside in each year from 1995 onwards; how many were charged; how many were subsequently convicted; and how many were aged(a) between 14 and 16, (b) between 16 and 19, (c) between 19 and 29 and (d) over 29 years. [99432]
§ Mr. Charles Clarke[holding answer 23 November 1999]: No information is collected centrally on drug-related crime, only on offences under various specific drug legislation, mostly the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
The following information is available:
(a) Recorded Crime
Notifiable offences of trafficking in controlled drugs recorded by Merseyside police is as follows:
Number 1995 698 1996 563 1997 694 For 1998–99 the coverage of notifiable offences was extended and revised principles for counting introduced. The following was recorded by Merseyside police:
Number Trafficking in controlled drugs 729 Possession of controlled drugs 4,737 Other drugs offences 154 (b) Stop/searches under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act
Numbers of persons/vehicles stopped and searched for drugs and number of arrests made for drugs by Merseyside police is as follows:
383W
Stop/searches Arrests 1995 5,357 1,066 1996–97 11,324 2,030 1997–98 15,613 2,557 (c) Persons cautioned, proceeded against and convicted:
Numbers of persons cautioned, proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts within Merseyside police force area for indictable drug offences1 by age group 1995–98 Age and year Total cautioned Total proceeded against Total found guilty 1995 1,170 1,810 1,485 1996 1,457 1,956 1,563 1997 2,033 2,311 2,030 1998 2,309 2,615 2,359 of which: 14–15 years of age 1995 74 19 13 1996 77 23 16 1997 116 22 16 1998 143 40 29 16–18 years of age 1995 361 212 174 1996 451 233 169 1997 544 270 240 1998 678 402 359 19–29 years of age 1995 630 1,129 941 1996 797 1,172 963 1997 1,111 1,339 1,162 1998 1,176 1,413 1,304 30 and over 1995 99 450 357 1996 130 526 414 1997 248 677 611 1998 295 759 667 1Trafficking in controlled drugs, possession of controlled drugs and other drug offences (principal offence basis) There is no information specifically on the number charged. Figures on those cautioned and proceeded against are the nearest available centrally.
(d) Research
Home Office research involving the drug testing of arrestees strongly suggests that around a third of acquisitive crime is linked to drug taking. Further work is being conducted within this programme. The results of the next phase, including research on Merseyside, are due to be published by the end of June 2000.