§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes have been recorded in each constituency in Lancashire in each of the last five years, broken down by type of crime; [156514]
(2) how many (a) burglaries, (b) car thefts, (c) acts of vandalism, (d) muggings, (e) rapes and (f) violent attacks were reported in Chorley constituency in each of the last three years. [157683]
§ Ms BlearsThe available information is given in a table that has been placed in the Library.
Figures for crimes recorded by the police are not broken down by constituency areas. However, they are available at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) level. There are currently fourteen CDRPs in Lancashire, including Chorley. CDRPs broadly equate 870W to Local Authority areas, and financial year figures are available for 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03.
Figures for recorded crime offences are available at CDRP level for six key offences groups only: violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary in a dwelling, theft of a motor vehicle, and theft from a vehicle.
The number of offences recorded may have been affected by the adoption of the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS). The NCRS was officially implemented across England and Wales in April 2002. Lancashire police adopted the Standard prior to this, in August 2000. The NCRS has particularly impacted in violent crime offences. Therefore, following the introduction of the Standard, numbers of recorded crimes are not directly comparable with previous years.