§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving police cars there were(a) in total and (b) involving fatalities in each year since 1997 (i) in England and Wales and (ii) in each police force area; and if he will make a statement. [155062]
§ Caroline FlintThe total number of accidents involving police vehicles in England and Wales is given in the table. The number of police and civilian fatalities
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Total police vehicle accidents Values Time periods Forces 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03z England and Wales 16,908 16,946 17,338 18,068 19,266 16,826 18,644 Avon and Somerset 507 477 531 457 394 616 647 Bedfordshire 205 320 161 215 170 167 196 Cambridgeshire 256 303 238 200 225 183 217 Cheshire 194 111 142 112 124 175 167 City of London 80 62 64 56 90 30 142 Cleveland 75 86 44 62 92 1— 186 Cumbria 116 133 87 144 152 182 447 Derbyshire 320 383 399 355 379 399 449 Devon and Cornwall 250 308 337 347 352 369 184 Dorset 119 139 129 143 166 188 l— Durham 159 142 184 157 182 178 204 Dyfed-Powys 75 42 40 88 162 198 414 Essex 391 396 406 392 446 392 203 Gloucestershire 196 147 163 228 181 124 1,038 Greater Manchester 957 774 933 981 1,108 1,050 160 Gwent 195 182 217 194 179 199 543 Hampshire 555 594 560 665 622 617 344 Hertfordshire 223 196 197 221 307 310 150 Humberside 188 207 236 162 198 194 732 Kent 423 546 448 427 507 506 510 Lancashire 449 268 160 417 331 244 180 Leicestershire 214 173 186 168 161 145 131 Lincolnshire 71 94 185 149 141 114 38 Merseyside 320 414 262 335 260 325 240 Metropolitan Police 3,783 4,045 1,645 4,643 5,375 3,657 4,910 Norfolk 192 211 184 221 224 202 231 Northamptonshire 134 139 91 68 147 86 121 Northumbria 1— 489 472 510 445 432 513 North Wales 95 48 46 46 77 92 60 North Yorkshire 131 140 140 102 167 117 397 Nottinghamshire 298 278 225 211 213 240 316 South Wales 597 563 651 663 873 833 917 arising from police responses to immediate/emergency calls and pursuits are also separately shown.
The Government welcome the recognition by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that they must work to reduce the number of collisions involving police vehicles.
Measures already in place include a new police driver training course, launched in December 2000, which introduced a universal standard for driving in England and Wales. An essential element of the course is that officers should recognise the need to give priority to public safety above all other considerations such as attending an incident or apprehending a suspect.
Where pursuits are concerned, there is a nationally agreed ACPO Pursuit Code of Practice and it is already police policy to consider continuously the consequences of a pursuit and whether to break it off.
ACPO are working closely with the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) to identify how police vehicle collisions might be avoided. Useful information can be expected front 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, breaking, and the use of blue lights.
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Total police vehicle accidents Values Time periods Forces 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 South Yorkshire 292 357 400 367 279 216 316 Staffordshire 557 644 646 527 462 298 306 Suffolk 136 122 168 143 137 142 119 Surrey 270 108 108 42 148 103 320 Sussex 401 282 223 567 462 1— 470 Thames Valley 888 688 918 1,045 1,063 1,127 992 Warwickshire 137 135 123 136 132 135 119 West Mercia 175 270 260 201 234 202 293 West Midlands 1,503 1,367 1,210 1,220 1,286 1,360 1— West Yorkshire 728 500 453 629 553 619 672 Wiltshire 53 63 66 52 60 60 50 246W247W
Police fatal road traffic accidents immediate/pursuit Values Time periods Forces 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 England and Wales 0 0 1 3 1 1 2 Avon and Somerset 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dorset 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Essex 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Greater Manchester 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Gwent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Humberside 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Metropolitan Police 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 South Wales 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sussex 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Midlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wiltshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Civilian fatal police vehicle accidents immediate/pursuit values Time periods Forces 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 England and Wales 15 15 10 11 18 23 20 Avon and Somerset 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 Bedfordshire 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 1— Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dorset 0 0 0 0 1 0 1— Durham 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Essex 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 Greater Manchester 2 8 2 1 6 5 0 Gwent 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1— Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Humberside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kent 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 2 0 0 0 0 0 1— Leicestershire 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Merseyside 2 1 0 0 0 1 3 Metropolitan Police 1 1 1 1 6 2 4 Norfolk 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northumbria 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1— Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 South Wales 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Staffordshire 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sussex 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 1 0 0 2 0 1 3 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Midlands 1 0 0 0 0 1 1— West Yorkshire 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Wiltshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Indicate data not yet submitted by police force. 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. 3. The figures for police vehicle accidents include all incidents in which a police vehicle sustains damage, including those where no other vehicle is involved. They encompass a very wide range of incidents from the very serious to the trivial, such as a scratched vehicle in a police yard. 4. Details of the number of fatalities involving police vehicles engaged in activities other than immediate/emergency response or pursuit are not centrally available.