HC Deb 30 October 2002 vol 391 cc841-2W
Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have(a) had cases initiated against them and (b) been prosecuted for cases which involve the death of minors in each of the last five years. [75554]

Hilary Benn

A suspect in a homicide case is defined as(i) a person who has been arrested in respect of an offence initially classified as homicide and has been charged with homicide, or (ii) a person who is suspected by the police of having committed the offence, but is known to have died or committed suicide prior to the arrest.

Data on homicides, held centrally, can identify the number of suspects involved and those indicted. The figures for homicide victims under 16 years are given in the table:

Total number of suspects Total number of suspects indicted for homicide
1996–97 95 75
1997–98 83 64
1998–99 97 73
1999–2000 75 45
2000–01 88 19

Data as at 3 October 2001; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.

In order to avoid duplication of suspects, only the suspects in relation to the first victim have been counted. If there are cases where the first victim is over 16 years and there are other victims under 16, the associated suspects will not have been included.

The number of suspects indicted in the last couple of years has not necessarily fallen These figures will change with time. In the published homicide statistics, data are shown according to the year in which the police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident which led to the death took place, nor the year in which any court decision was made. The statistics all refer to the position as at 3 October 2001. Subsequent court hearings or other information received will change the figures given, so too much importance should not be placed on the 2000–01 figures.

Homicide statistics are published annually in chapter 4 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales". The latest statistics relating to 2000–01 were published in December 2001 in "Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2000".