§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a breakdown of the statistics for recorded crime in Hertfordshire by type of offence(a) on 1 May 1997, (b) on 1 June 2001 and (c) according to the most recent statistics which are available [75398]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Home Office does not collect recorded crime figures on a daily basis.
It should be noted that there was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, and a change in Hertfordshire Constabulary's boundary on 1 April 2000, both of which will have increased the number of offences recorded by the force. Recorded crime figures for the force from before and after these dates will therefore not be directly comparable. The figures for the financial year ending March 1998, and the year ending March 2002, which is the latest available, are given in the table.
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Recorded Crime: Number of Offences Recorded for Hertfordshire Offence Group 12 months to March 19981 12 months to March 20022 Violence against the person 2,406 4,713 Sexual offences 307 381 Robbery 282 683 Total violent crime 2,995 5,777 Burglary 9,313 10,682 Theft and handling stolen goods 25,456 30,213 Theft of and from a vehicle3 15,188 14,367 Fraud and Forgery 1,418 3,475 Criminal damage 9,811 15,323 Drug and other offences4 433 1,967 Total 49,426 67,437 Notes:
1 The number of crimes recorded in the old police force area in that financial year using the counting rules in use until 31 March 199
2 The number of crimes recorded in the new police force area in that financial year using the revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
3 Theft of and from vehicles are included in the Theft and Handling stolen goods offence group.
4 Prior to April 1998, Trafficking in controlled drugs were the only recorded drug offence. As from April 1998, both Possesion of controlled drugs and Other drug offences became notifiable.