§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents involving (i) police, (ii) ambulance, (iii) fire service and (iv) other emergency service vehicles there were in each year since 1993, in each London borough; and if he will make a statement. [128760]
§ Ms BlearsThe tables attached give the number of accidents in the Metropolitan and City of London police areas involving police vehicles engaged inimmediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the 659W accident. The figures are broken down by the severity of injuries sustained by police officers and civilians. Information is not available broken down by London Borough. The Home Office does not collect data on accidents involving ambulance, fire service, or other emergency vehicles.
The Government welcomes the recognition by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that they must work to reduce the number of collisions involving police vehicles.
ACPO are working closely with the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) to identify why they occur and how they might be avoided. Useful information can be expected from the increasing use by forces of Automatic Data Recorders (ADR) and Vehicle Accident Data Recorders (VADR). These operate in a similar way to aircraft black boxes, providing data on such issues as speed, gear changes, braking, and the use of blue lights.
Table A: The number of accidents in the Metropolitan (Met) and City of London (CofL) police areas involving police vehicles engaged in immediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the accident, broken down by severity of injuries sustained to police officers. Fatal Serious Injury Slight Injury Year Met CofL Met CofL Met CofL 1993 2 0 51 0 N/a N/a 1994–95 2 0 22 0 421 2 1995–96 0 0 23 0 297 4 1996–97 0 0 43 1 352 7 1997–98 0 0 47 3 419 0 1998–99 0 0 45 0 280 6 1999–2000 0 0 11 0 235 0 2000–01 0 0 11 0 235 0 2001–02 0 0 15 0 218 5
Table B: The number of accidents in the Metropolitan (Met) and City of London (CofL) police areas involving police vehicles engaged in immediate/emergency, response or pursuit at the time of the accident, broken down by severity of injuries sustained to civilians. Fatal Serious Injury Slight Injury Year Met CofL Met CofL Met CofL 1993 10 0 45 1 N/a N/a 1994–95 11 0 22 1 353 6 1995–96 4 0 25 0 335 2 1996–97 1 0 27 0 189 4 1997–98 1 0 28 0 246 3 1998–99 1 0 25 1 310 3 1999–2000 1 0 24 0 220 0 2000–01 6 0 29 0 393 2 2001–02 2 0 36 1 389 1 Notes:
1. The information is provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, to which forces submit statistical returns
2. All figures are for financial years, except for 1993 (calendar year)
3. Figures for 2002–03 are not yet available
4. Information on fatalities and injuries is only available for accidents involving police vehicles which were engaged in immediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the accident.