§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if, in relation to the Patten report Implementation Plan, he has sought to quantify the extent and the growth during the past five years of volume crime and of Mafia-style organised crime; and if he will publish a report. [144687]
§ Mr. IngramIn recent years, Northern Ireland, in common with England and Wales, has experienced an increase in volume crime, that is offences against the person and property damage (burglary, theft and criminal damage). Comparing 1998–99 and 1999–2000, the number of these370W offences recorded increased by 9 per cent. In both years such offences represented 89 per cent. of all offences recorded by the police. The Royal Ulster Constabulary is developing a professional crime and incident analysis capability across the organisation in recognition of the extent and growth of volume crime and reflecting the requirements of the Patten report.
The police, with the assistance of other agencies, are presently researching the level of scale and scope of the organised crime problem, in both the public and private sectors, in Northern Ireland. In addition, the Government have established a multi-agency task force to tackle organised crime in Northern Ireland, which I chair.
The Patten report took account of the types of crime to which the hon. Member is referring, and so, indirectly therefore, does the plan. For example, the size, structure, training and co-operation sections of the Patten report all take account of the need to deal with community concerns about rising crime and drug abuse. Indeed, paragraph 13.6 of the report states that
… we take (the concerns) seriously enough not to base our calculations of future policing commitments on an assumption that Northern Ireland's level of crime will remain as low as it is now".