Handguns: Use in Serious Crime (Hansard, 15 January 2001)

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton:

Figures for England and Wales for the number of offences in which handguns were used, in various categories of recorded crime, are given in the table.

Under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 it is an offence to publish an "obscene article", as defined in the Act. Under Section 2 of the Act a person who publishes (distributes, circulates, sells, lets on hire, gives or lends it, or who offers it for sale or for letting on hire) an obscene article, or transmits obscene data electronically may be guilty of an offence.

Under the Protection of Children Act 1976, there is an absolute prohibition of the production, circulation and possession with a view to distribution of any indecent photograph of a child under 16. The simple possession of an indecent photograph of a child is also an offence under Section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Section 84 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 updated these controls to include indecent computer-generated photographs of children, and they have been successfully applied to child pornography transmitted over the Internet.

The Government support the work of the Internet Watch Foundation which was set up in 1996 by Internet service providers to enable members of the public, via a hotline, to report potentially illegal material in a newsgroup or website. If the material is considered illegal, the foundation passes details to the United Kingdom police to initiate action against the originators and asks British Internet service providers (ISPs) to close down links to the site. If the originators are abroad, the foundation passes the report to the National Criminal Intelligence Service 103WA (NCIS) which liaises with the enforcement agencies of the countries concerned.

The way in which records are held for those initially charged by the police and those convicted by the courts in England and Wales differs. Offences involving "obscene publications, etc and protected sexual material" became notifiable offences from 1 April

Number of persons Cautioned and Convicted at all Courts for various offences
England and Wales 1997–99
		Found Guilty	Cautioned
Code	Offence description	1997	1998	1999	1997	1998	1999
86/01	Obscene Publications Act 1959 Sec(2)(1) as amended by Obscene Publications Act 1964 Sec 1(1)—Prohibition of publication of obscene matter	186	176	96	54	44	41
86/02	Protection of Children Act 1978 S.I. as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sec. 84—Take, permit to be taken or to make distribute or publish indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children	103	82	139	14	26	31
181/06	Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec.160 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Secs. 84(4) and 86(1)—Possession of an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph	81	105	99	17	19	34
Source: Crime and Criminal Justice Unit, Home Office.

With regard to Northern Ireland, the equivalent legislation is the Protection of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1978 (as amended) and the common law offence of publishing an "Obscene Libel". Prosecution data under this legislation are not currently available.

The equivalent law in Scotland is devolved. The Scottish Executive will respond directly to the noble Lord as soon as possible.