§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) racially motivated, (b) violent, (c) street and (d) drug-related crimes were reported in (i) Lancashire and (ii) the North-West of England in the last 12 months. [73885]
§ Mr. DenhamNumbers of reported crimes are not collected centrally. Numbers of crimes recorded by the police in the year ending March 2002 are given in the table. As some of the forces in the North West, including Lancashire, implemented the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard in advance of its national implementation in April 2002, the given figures cannot be directly compared with those for previous years.
The crime categories for which racially aggravated crimes are recorded separately are harassment, other wounding, common assault and criminal damage. The total numbers of these racially aggravated crimes are given in the table.
Violent crime is comprised of the offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.
626W'Street crime' is not a separate category in recorded crime figures, which are based on legal definitions. Figures are given for robberies of personal property
Recorded crime figures do not contain details of whether offences are related to offenders' drug habits. Figures for offences specifically related to drugs themselves, including for example trafficking and possession of drugs, are given.
Recorded crime in the year ending March 2002 Lancashire North West Government Region Racially aggravated offences 1,057 4,746 Violent crimes 18,535 106,892 Robbery of personal property 1,437 13,656 Drug offences 3,169 14,775