§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported incidences of distraction burglary there were in each of the last five430W years; and what estimate he has made of the number of incidences of distraction burglary that go unreported each year. [102736]
§ Mr. Bob Ainsworth: [pursuant to his answer, 21 March 2003, c. 969W,]Owing to an administrative error the answer given was incorrect information. The correct answer is as follows:
There is no separate recordable offence of distraction burglary and figures for distraction burglaries have not been routinely collected centrally. However, figures we have received from police forces in special exercises indicate the following numbers of domestic burglaries in England and Wales were recorded as distraction burglaries:
1998–99 15,526 2000–01 15,882 2001–02 19,397 The figure of 19,397 for 2001–02, which was quoted in a previous reply to the hon. Member on 21 October 2002, Official Report, column 98W, was based on estimates in the case of those forces for which we had not received figures. The revised figure reflects data, which has since been received.
The British Crime Survey (BCS2002), which includes crimes not reported to or recorded by the police, estimated that six per cent of burglaries involve gaining access by false pretences. The BCS also estimates that there were 991,000 burglaries in England and Wales in 2001–02, which suggests that there were some 60,000 distraction burglaries.
From 2003–04 we will be collecting numbers of recorded distraction burglaries centrally from police forces.