§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences in the broad categories of fraud and forgery were committed in each of the last five years for which statistics are available, together with the clear-up rate. [146394]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeFraud and forgery is a main offence category in itself in recorded crime statistics. The recorded crime figures for this category in England and Wales for the last five years are as follows.
Year Number of offences Clear-up rate (percentage) 1995 133,016 50 1996 136,225 49 1997 134,398 48 1998–991 279,503 36 1999–20001,2 334,773 30 1 Years ending March. Numbers of offences recorded under the new counting rules for recorded crime, which were introduced on 1 April 1998. These new rules particularly impacted on the fraud and forgery category, and were estimated to have increased the number of offences counted by 61 per cent. Clear-up rates before and after this date are not directly comparable. 2 New counting rules for clear-ups were introduced on 1 April 1999. Clear-up rates before and after this date are not directly comparable.