§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people died in police custody in 2001. [68017]
§ Mr. DenhamSixty-four people died in police custody or otherwise following contact with the police during 2001. Two of these deaths occurred in police stations.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the overall crime detection rate for each police force in England in each year from 1990–91 to 2001–02; if he will rank each force in order of highest to lowest detection rate for the latest year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [66883]
§ Mr. DenhamDetails for the calendar years 1990 to 1997, and financial years thereafter, were published in table 2.11 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2000", and are given in the table.
There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which increased the total number of crimes counted in each police force area, and therefore may have affected the detection rate. Detection rates after this date are therefore not directly comparable with previous years.
There was a change in the counting rules for detections on 1 April 1999, the new instructions providing more precise and rigorous criteria for securing a detection, with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. For example, detections obtained by the interview of a convicted prisoner were no longer included. Numbers of detections before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.
As different police forces have different crime mixes, comparing overall detection rates between forces is of limited value. This is because different types of crime tend to have different detection rates, and so a police force with which has a higher proportion of types of crime with high detection rates will tend to have a higher overall detection rate. Also, police forces may give priority to tackling particular types of crime, with the detection rate of those crimes having some effect on the force's overall detection rate.
1251W
England and Wales 1990–2000/01 Percentages Police force area 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1997–81 1998–92 1999–20003 2000–013 Suffolk 41 37 39 37 35 34 33 37 39 41 36 35 Devon and Cornwall 32 29 18 25 27 27 30 32 34 36 35 34 Cumbria 43 40 37 38 37 40 36 40 41 44 39 34 Durham 34 30 30 30 32 30 30 31 30 33 32 34 Northamptonshire 35 31 30 27 31 28 34 35 35 33 33 33 Gloucestershire 33 35 24 20 24 27 23 24 26 31 31 31 Northumbria 40 35 17 20 22 23 24 26 26 30 31 31 North Yorkshire 40 36 33 30 25 23 25 26 26 33 31 30 Wiltshire 44 40 37 35 36 32 29 32 32 38 33 30 Cheshire 50 41 29 26 30 31 34 36 34 37 31 30 Hampshire 32 28 26 26 27 28 28 30 30 35 32 29 West Midlands 36 31 27 27 25 24 23 24 25 30 27 28 Leicestershire 36 29 30 28 30 29 31 34 34 34 30 28 Surrey4 27 23 22 20 30 31 29 33 35 40 32 28 Merseyside 44 45 42 39 33 27 29 31 31 31 26 28 Kent 25 23 27 25 29 26 32 31 31 34 33 28 Bedfordshire 19 19 20 21 22 22 33 35 35 33 25 27 West Mercia 46 35 34 29 29 28 26 28 27 34 29 27 London, City of 21 20 20 22 27 23 27 26 28 33 32 27 Lancashire 44 40 37 35 33 34 33 29 29 34 29 27 Essex4 29 32 29 32 36 33 29 27 28 29 30 26 Norfolk 37 37 34 28 34 31 32 37 36 37 30 26 Derbyshire 32 28 22 21 21 20 21 25 26 31 28 26 South Yorkshire 44 36 26 20 24 24 23 29 32 32 25 25 Dorset 35 41 32 33 30 28 27 29 30 31 26 25 Lincolnshire 43 46 39 37 32 39 42 46 40 28 25 Cambridgeshire 38 36 27 25 25 19 24 27 28 29 25 24 Hertfordshire4 30 33 26 21 24 28 30 32 33 34 27 24 Sussex 26 23 23 24 24 28 29 26 26 25 25 23 Staffordshire 39 37 30 29 31 32 34 35 34 32 22 23 West Yorkshire 34 28 25 18 20 21 24 27 27 27 25 23 Warwickshire 29 24 23 21 24 25 24 27 29 26 22 22 Thames Valley 26 22 19 21 22 23 25 24 25 25 20 22 Greater Manchester 32 36 35 34 34 24 17 20 20 25 23 22 Avon and Somerset 29 24 17 17 21 23 24 26 26 24 22 22 Cleveland 25 33 32 27 19 25 24 25 23 23 22 21 Humberside 37 32 23 16 17 19 20 20 21 22 19 21 Nottinghamshire 35 27 26 29 28 23 28 28 26 25 21 20 Metropolitan Police4 17 17 16 17 23 25 23 26 25 22 16 15 England 31 29 25 25 26 26 26 28 28 28 24 24 1 The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the coverage and rules in use until 31 March 1998. 2 The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998. 3 Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999. The new instructions provide more precise and rigorous criteria for recording a detection, with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. 4 On 1.4.2000, parts of the Metropolitan police area were transferred to Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire. This may have had an effect on detection rates in those areas.