§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were fined and how much was paid in fines for speeding in(a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2001; and how many police man hours were used to catch drivers who were guilty of speeding in (A) England, (B) Wales and (C) Northern Ireland in each year. [72172]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe table shows the total number and amount (£) of fines ordered to be paid following conviction for speeding offences within England and Wales separately for 2000. As the majority of such offences are dealt with by the issue of a fixed penalty, the table also shows the total amount of fixed penalties ordered to be paid. Not all fines and fixed penalties will have been paid. Information for 2001 will be available in the Autumn.
The total police time in England spent on traffic is eight per cent. We cannot break this figure down into time spent on speeding offences without a specific data gathering exercise which would be both time consuming and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.
Information relating to Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
By prioritising the email accounts of the most active individuals in the newsgroups, 130 targets were identified around the world. The National Crime Squad produced evidential packs on the targets and briefed officers from the relevant national and domestic police forces. Detailed investigations were then launched against each target; in the United Kingdom each of the ten targets were arrested and subsequently charged and their computer equipment seized. Eleven child victims have been identified as a result of the operation so far. The operation involved the National Crime Squad, Interpol, nine United Kingdom police forces and 12 other international police forces.
77WOther recent operations against paedophile use of the Internet have had good results at home and internationally. These have involved United Kingdom police forces, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad and the new National High Tech Crime Unit within it.