§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of cases of corruption involving(a) police, (b) prison and (c) customs officers which have involved illegal drugs in each of the last five years. [97509]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeInformation is held centrally only on the number of police officers convicted of offences of corruption. The total for each of the last five years is shown in the table. The figures held centrally do not indicate those cases which involved drugs:
Year Number 1994 2 1995–96 1 1996–97 5 1997–98 1 1998–99 2 In the case of the Prison Service, centrally held records (which are not necessarily complete) show that since December 1993, two prison staff have been dismissed and one member of staff resigned, following allegations that they have been involved in supplying or procuring illegal drugs.
I understand from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise that one officer resigned in 1996, one was dismissed this year and another officer is currently suspended following the investigation of cases of drug related corruption.