§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average crime clear-up rate was in England and Wales in 2000–01, broken down by force; what assessment he has made of the reasons for the differences in crime clear-up rates between forces; and if he will make a statement. [21624]
§ Mr. DenhamThe proportion of crime detected was 24 per cent, in England and Wales in 2000–01. The following table shows the detection rate in each force and is taken from Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2000.
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Police force area Percentages Avon and Somerset 22 Bedfordshire 27 Cambridgeshire 24 Cheshire 30 Cleveland 21 Cumbria 34 Derbyshire 26 Devon and Cornwall 34 Dorset 25 Durham 34 Essex 26 Gloucestershire 31 Greater Manchester 22 Hampshire 29 Hertfordshire 24 Humberside 21 Kent 28 Lancashire 27 Leicestershire 28 Lincolnshire 25 London, City of 27 Merseyside 28 Metropolitan police 15 Norfolk 26 Northamptonshire 33 Northumbria 31 North Yorkshire 30 Nottinghamshire 20 South Yorkshire 25 Staffordshire 23 Suffolk 35 Surrey 28 Sussex 23 Thames Valley 22 Warwickshire 22 West Mercia 27 West Midlands 28 West Yorkshire 23 Wiltshire 30 England average 24 Dyfed-Powys 63 Gwent 57 North Wales 31 South Wales 32 Wales average 41 As Policing a New Century: a Blueprint for Reform makes clear, these variations are unacceptable. The Standards Unit will identify the variations and the causes of those variations in order to identify and spread best practice in crime detection.
There are marked differences in detection rates for different types of offence. This is, in part, owing to the level of investigation that an offence merits although other factors will also play a part. For example, there are offences (such as harassment) where the victim may know the offender, which will increase probability of a detection. In general violent offences have a higher detection rate than crimes against property.
Comparisons of detection rates for individual police forces may reflect differences in the circumstances of offences between areas and variations in recording practice.