Burglary (Hansard, 17 March 2003)

§ Mr. Hepburn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the detection rate for burglaries in homes was in(a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) the UK in each year since 1997; [100769]

Recorded crime statistics for South Tyneside Basic Command Unit (BCU) and England and Wales
	¹1997	²1998–99	³1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
South Tyneside detection rate (per cent.)	—	—	18	14	11
South Tyneside offences per 1,000 household	—	—	21.1	20.8	17.4
England and Wales detection rate (per cent.)	26	22	15	14	14
England and Wales offences per 1,000 household	25.8	23.5	22.0	20.0	21.4
1. Recorded on a calendar year basis up to 1997, and thereafter on a financial year, basis (12 months to March).
2. The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998. This will also have affected the detection rate.
3. The counting rules for detections changed on 1 April 1999.

There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which would have the tendency to increase the number of offences counted. Numbers of offences before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.

There was also a change in counting rules for detections on 1 April 1999. The new instructions provide more precise and rigorous criteria for recording a detection, with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. Numbers of detections before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.

Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland (Helen Liddell) and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Paul Murphy).

574W

(2) how many burglaries per 1,000 households there have been in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) south Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [100768]