§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police authorities within England and Wales have been involved in cases of child abuse; what resources have been utilised to service each investigation as a percentage of the total budget allocated to each police authority in each year since 1996; and what definition is used for a victim and complainant. [35958]
§ Mr. DenhamI have been informed by the Association of Chief Police Officers that all authorities are likely to have been involved in investigation of cases of child abuse and all authorities will have family protection units.
It is for the chief officer to determine what level of resources should be allocated to any investigation. Provision will vary between cases.
Central records of numbers of cases and resources employed are not held.
A widely recognised definition of 'victim' is that of the European Union Council Framework Decision of 15 March 2001:
Victim shall mean a natural person who has suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering or economic loss, directly caused by acts or omissions that are in violation of the criminal law of a member state"There is no formal definition of "complainant".