HC Deb 19 March 2003 vol 401 cc820-1W
Mr. Evans

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage clear-up rate for crimes in Wales was in each year since 1997. [102536]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

The requested information is given in the following table.

Percentage
Detection rate
19971 41
1997–982 41
1998–993 46
1999–20004 40
2000–014 41
2001–024,5 39
1 Recorded on a calendar year basis up to 1997, and then on a financial year basis thereafter.
2 The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the coverage and rules in use until 3 I March 1998.
3 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.
4 Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999.
5 Three out of the four police force areas in Wales (Dyfed Powys, North Wales and South Wales) adopted the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) prior to its national introduction across England and Wales on 1 April 2002. This may have affected the detection rates given.

There was 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.

Hugh Bayley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the heads under which City of York Council received money to tackle crime in each year since 1997; and how much was received in each case. [102649]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

The following table outlines the heads under which programme funding has been provided to the City of York Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership since 1997 to tackle crime and identifies the level of funding in each case.

Funding provision
£
1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04
Arrest Referral Scheme 13,221 13,618 13,958
Reducing Burglary Initiative1 17,065
Intervention Work in Schools1 79,000
CCTV1 228,000
Partnership Development Fund 5,583 52,000 47,500
Communities Against Drugs 163,800 163,800
Safer Communities Initiative 59,484
Funding for Crime Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) 230,888
Basic Command Unit Fund2 208,578
Total 324,065 18,804 229,418 284,742 439,466
1 The total funding for these projects was allocated in 1999–2000 although the projects themselves may have lasted more than one year.
2 The Basic Command Unit Fund will be provided to the Central region of North Yorkshire Police of which the City of York is a part. This funding is for use within the Partnership.

Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on crime committed by asylum applicants residing in the United Kingdom. [102923]

Beverley Hughes

We take very seriously any criminal or anti-social acts committed by asylum seekers. Although there is no evidence to suggest that asylum seekers are disproportionately likely to commit crime, we have taken powers in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 to prevent serious criminals availing themselves of the protection of the 1951 Refugee Convention. We will seek to remove such criminals from the United Kingdom wherever possible.

Offenders found guilty at all courts or cautioned ('known offenders') in Essex, by offence group
Offence group 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Violence Against The Person 1,206 1,072 983 825 859
Sexual Offences 164 154 123 119 81
Burglary 821 762 731 614 554
Robbery 69 92 93 94 81
Theft and Handling Stolen Goods 5,163 4,987 4,447 4,085 4,221
Fraud and Forgery 581 569 551 494 504
Criminal Damage 604 414 378 323 858
Drug Offences 2,158 2,173 2,038 1,702 1,588
Other Indictable Non-Motoring 978 1,094 862 829 755
Indictable Motoring Offences1 265 264 202 188 209
Total Indictable Offences 12,009 11,581 10,408 9,273 9,710
Summary Non-Motoring Offences 16,302 18,951 17,980 18,368 14,137
Summary Motoring Offences1 19,489 19,152 20,525 19,931 21,979
Total summary offences 35,791 38,103 38,505 38,299 36,116
Total all offences 47,800 49,684 48,913 47,572 45,826
1 Offenders found guilty only; motoring offences may attract written warnings.

Mr. Andrew Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers residing in the UK have been prosecuted for(a) sexual crime, (b) violent crime, (c) robbery and (d) other criminal offences in each year from 1997 to 2003; and what the total cost to public funds has been of such prosecutions. [02922]

Hilary Benn

The information requested is not collected centrally.