| Home Page |
Column 173
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 7 June 1995
HOME DEPARTMENT
Body Armour
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding he will make available to chief constables to ensure that all police officers are issued with bullet-proof or knife-proof vests. [26274]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 6 June 1995]: No specific provision is being made available for this purpose, but total funds for the police service increased by 4 per cent. in 1995 96 to £6.4 billion. It is for chief officers to decide when and how to equip police officers with body armour, reflecting local priorities.
Fine Defaulters
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons over the past two years who were held in police custody had warrants separately issued for their arrest in respect of non-payment at the time they were discharged from custody; and if he will make a statement. [26028]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 6 June 1995]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the names of those persons for whom there is a warrant for non-payment of fines are not included on the police national computer; and if he will make a statement. [26029]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 6 June 1995]: Most warrants for non-payment of fines are executed locally, and the police often take the view that no useful purpose would be served by recording them on the police national computer. I understand that police forces enter the names of such persons on the police national computer where they consider that making the information available to other forces would be worth while, bearing in mind that the defaulter could not be arrested by any officer not in possession of the warrant itself.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what means custody officers in police stations have to establish whether persons whom they detain or release have warrants against themfor non- payment of fines; and if he will make astatement. [26030]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 6 June 1995]: All warrants issued by the courts and forwarded to the police are recorded on the force warrants register. In the case of warrants on which initial inquiries have been made without success, entries are made on the police national computer. For all persons coming into police custody, both sources of information are checked.
Column 174
Female Prisoners
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women prisoners are currently being held (a) three to a one-person cell and (b) two to a one-person cell; and what were the figures for each of the last 10 years. [26095]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 June 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 7 June 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of female prisoners currently sharing two and three to a cell and the figures for each of the last ten years.
At the end of May there were 48 female prisoners in England and Wales sharing two to a cell designed for one. There were no female prisoners sharing three to a cell designed for one.
Information for previous years is only available from centrally held records from 1992 onwards and is given in the table below:
Number of female prisoners sharing two and three to a cell
at end of May 1992-May 1994
|Number of female |Number of female
|prisoners sharing|prisoners sharing
|two to a cell |three to a cell
------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 1992 |82 |-
May 1993 |22 |-
May 1994 |24 |-
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of self-mutilation occurred in women's prisons in each of the last 10years. [26097]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 June 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 7 June 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of incidents of self-mutilation in women's prisons in each of the last 10 years.
Incidents of self-mutilation which occur within Prison Service establishments are not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Records are, however, kept of the number of incidents of deliberate self-harm each year, within which the number of deliberate self-mutilations will be contained.
A breakdown of incidents of deliberate self-harm by sex is available only from 1992 93 onwards. These figures are reproduced in the attached table.
Number of deliberate self-harm incidents among female
inmates
|Number of incidents
Year |of deliberate self
|harm
------------------------------------------------------------
1992-93 |1,114
1993-94 |1,113
1994-95 |1,213
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prisoners in England and Wales are currently serving sentence for drug offences, by nationality of each prisoner. [26886]
Column 175
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 7 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking how many female prisoners in England and Wales are currently serving sentence for drug offences, by nationality of each prisoner. The most recent provisional information for 28 February 1995 is given in the attached table.
Female sentenced population in
England and Wales
on 28 February 1995; drugs
offences, by nationality
|Number
----------------------------------
Barbados |2
Brazil |1
Canada |1
Columbia |4
Cyprus |1
Germany |1
Grenada |1
Ghana |14
Guam |1
Guyana |13
Hungary |1
Irish Republic |3
Jamaica |31
Kenya |1
Liberia |1
Nigeria |35
Netherlands |5
Pakistan |5
Poland |1
South Africa |1
Spain |1
Turkey |1
Trinidad and Tobago |1
Tanzania |1
United Kingdom |193
USA |8
Venezuela |1
Zambia |1
Total |330
Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state by category of crime, the type of crime committed by each of the female prisoners in custody as at 9 May and the length of sentence in each case. [25963]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Janet Anderson, dated 7 June 1995 :
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking if he will state by category of crime, the type of crime committed by each of the female prisoners in custody as at 9 May and the length of sentence in each case.
The most recent provisional information for 28 February 1995 is given in the attached table.
Column 175
Female sentenced population in prison service establishments in England and Wales on 28 February 1995,
by offence group, offence, and length of sentence (excluding fine defaulters)
|Over 6 |Over 12
|Over 3 |months |months |Over 18 |Over 3 |Over 4 |Over 5
|Up to |months |up to and|up to and|months |years up |years up |years |Over 10
|All |and |up to and|including|including|up to and|to and |to and |Over and |years and
|sentence |including|including|12 |18 |including|including|including|including|less than
|lengths |3 months |6 months |months |months |3 years |4 years |5 years |10 years |life |Life
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Violence against the person: |268 |12 |18 |17 |17 |36 |15 |22 |26 |5 |100
Sexual offences: |11 |1 |1 |1 |0 |3 |1 |1 |3 |- |-
Burglary: |51 |1 |5 |17 |8 |11 |5 |2 |2 |- |-
Robbery: |93 |1 |3 |8 |11 |36 |16 |8 |10 |- |-
Theft and handling: |251 |44 |59 |77 |33 |35 |2 |- |1 |- |-
Fraud and forgery: |92 |9 |15 |20 |11 |24 |12 |1 |- |- |-
Drug offences: |330 |1 |6 |19 |21 |59 |46 |50 |109 |19 |-
Other offences: |124 |16 |18 |8 |9 |24 |16 |12 |15 |1 |5
Offence not recorded: |163 |9 |21 |30 |17 |51 |14 |6 |13 |1 |1
Total of all immediate custodial offences |1383 |94 |146 |198 |127 |279 |125 |102 |178 |26 |106
Manslaughter Detainees
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average length of time for patients with hospital orders for manslaughter between the restriction order being imposed and any kind of leave of absence, including supervised shopping trips; [26096]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 11 May, Official Report , column 554 , on restricted patients with a hospital order sentenced for manslaughter, for each year and each category, what was the average length of term between
Column 176
the patients' first supervised visit outside and their ultimate release; [26152](3) on restricted patients with a hospital order sentenced for manslaughter, how many of those patients in each category in each year have taken part in supervised outside visits; [26154] (4) on restricted patients with a conviction for manslaughter for each year listed what was the shortest length of time between the restriction order being imposed and any kind of leave of absence, including supervised shopping trips. [26155]
Column 177
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 June 1995]: This information is not available.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 May, Official Report column 554 , on restricted patients with a hospital order sentenced for manslaughter, how many of the patients in each year in each category have committed further offences since being released; and if he will give details of the offences. [26151]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 June 1995]: Of the 84 restricted patients with a hospital order who were sentenced for manslaughter and discharged between 1985 and 1994, two are known to have been subsequently convicted of a standard list offence before the end of 1993. One patient was sentenced for manslaughter in 1987, the other in 1989. The subsequent offences were theft from shops and burglary in a building other than a dwelling.
All indictable--including triable either way--plus some summary.
Prisoners
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently held (a) three to a one-person cell and (b) two to a one person cell; and what these figures were for each of the past 10 years. [26150]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 June 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 7 June 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners currently sharing two and three to a cell and the figures for each of the last ten years.
At the end of May 1995 there were 8,362 prisoners in England and Wales sharing two to a cell designed for one. There were no prisoners sharing three to a cell designed for one.
Information for previous years is only available from 1987 and is given in the attached table.
Number of prisoners sharing two and three to a cell, 1987-94
|Number of prisoners|Number of prisoners
|sharing two to a |sharing three to a
|cell |cell
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 1987 |13,634 |4,878
May 1988 |12,230 |4,893
May 1989 |12,156 |4,446
May 1990 |10,100 |3,261
May 1991 |10,686 |2,007
May 1992 |9,392 |1,038
May 1993 |7,412 |126
May 1994 |8,106 |-
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently held in (a) England and Wales and (b) London; and how many of them are in each security
category. [26156]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 June 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 7 June 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners currently held in (a) England and Wales and (b) London; and how many of them are in each security category.
The information requested is given in the attached tables.
1. Number of prisoners held in England and Wales and London on 26 May 1995 England and Wales Greater London Prison service |Prison service establishments |Police cells |establishments|Police cells |Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 44,564 |126 |6,238 |- |50,928
2. Number of Prisoners Held in England and Wales
and London (Greater London) on 26 May 1995
|England |Greater
Security Category |and Wales |London |Totals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category A |655 |91 |746
Category B |6,464 |379 |6,843
Category C |15,428 |1,342 |16,770
Category D |3,694 |250 |3,944
Uncategorised or Awaiting
Categorisation |18,449 |4,176 |22,625
1. Female prisoners and young offenders are given only a security category when category A is
applicable.
2. Unless category A is applicable, adult male prisoners are not given a security category until
after conviction and sentence.
3. Greater London comprises the London boroughs and the City of London.
Probation Service
Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the budget for each probation service in England and Wales for 1994 95 and 1995 96 in (a) cash and (b) comparable terms; and if he will identify the budget difference in (i) cash and (ii) percentage terms between those years for each probation service. [26878]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The information is given in the table:
Column 177
|Change from 1994-95|Change from 1994-95
|1994-95 budget |1995-96 budget |1995-96 budget |to 1995-96 in cash |to 1995-96 in
Probation service |(cash terms) |(cash terms)<1> |(real terms)<2> |terms |percentage terms
|(£) |(£) |(£) |(£)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |6,363,247 |6,391,504 |6,190,319 |28,257 |0.4
Bedfordshire |3,561,153 |3,520,072 |3,409,271 |(41,081) |-1.2
Berkshire |5,598,357 |5,537,701 |5,363,391 |(60,656) |-1.1
Buckinghamshire |4,123,056 |4,032,524 |3,905,592 |(90,532) |-2.2
Cambridgeshire |3,985,020 |3,957,128 |3,832,569 |(27,892) |-0.7
Cheshire |5,814,495 |5,817,204 |5,634,096 |2,709 |0
Cleveland |4,827,165 |4,823,077 |4,671,261 |(4,088) |-0.1
Cornwall |2,498,062 |2,534,760 |2,454,973 |36,698 |1.5
Cumbria |4,024,646 |3,969,364 |3,844,420 |(55,282) |-1.4
Derbyshire |4,995,971 |4,973,854 |4,817,292 |(22,117) |-0.4
Devon |7,164,724 |7,019,289 |6,798,343 |(145,435) |-2
Dorset |4,303,024 |4,234,358 |4,101,073 |(68,666) |-1.6
Durham |4,258,812 |4,194,821 |4,062,781 |(63,991) |-1.5
Essex |8,787,508 |8,670,720 |8,397,792 |(116,788) |-1.3
Gloucestershire |3,757,233 |3,731,342 |3,613,891 |(25,891) |-0.7
Hampshire |9,064,455 |8,982,941 |8,700,185 |(81,514) |-0.9
Hereford and Worcester |4,314,230 |4,217,601 |4,084,844 |(96,629) |-1.7
Hertfordshire |5,713,026 |5,582,714 |5,406,987 |(130,312) |-2.3
Humberside |6,113,919 |6,054,183 |5,863,615 |(59,736) |-1
Kent |9,580,095 |9,571,436 |9,270,156 |(8,659) |-0.1
Lancashire |8,817,083 |8,758,995 |8,483,288 |(58,088) |-0.7
Leicestershire |5,369,795 |5,325,131 |5,157,512 |(44,664) |-0.8
Lincolnshire |3,826,514 |3,786,164 |3,666,987 |(40,350) |-1.1
Greater Manchester |23,570,470 |23,455,063 |22,716,768 |(115,407) |-0.5
Merseyside |15,295,192 |15,082,112 |14,607,372 |(213,080) |-1.4
Norfolk |4,079,001 |4,046,821 |3,919,439 |(32,180) |-0.8
Northamptonshire |3,315,744 |3,335,463 |3,230,473 |19,719 |0.6
Northumbria |11,854,200 |11,741,910 |11,372,310 |(112,290) |-0.9
Nottinghamshire |8,564,573 |8,428,929 |8,163,612 |(135,644) |-1.6
Oxfordshire |3,527,945 |3,457,918 |3,349,073 |(70,027) |-2
Shropshire |2,487,777 |2,451,574 |2,374,406 |(36,203) |-1.5
Somerset |3,992,139 |3,893,500 |3,770,944 |(98,639) |-2.5
Staffordshire |7,289,697 |7,152,056 |6,926,931 |(137,641) |-1.9
Suffolk |3,585,647 |3,561,455 |3,449,351 |(24,192) |-0.7
Surrey |5,567,848 |5,517,022 |5,343,363 |(50,826) |-0.9
East Sussex |4,133,220 |4,129,636 |3,999,647 |(3,584) |-0.1
West Sussex |3,199,562 |3,190,990 |3,090,547 |(8,572) |-0.3
Warwickshire |3,352,241 |3,310,034 |3,205,844 |(42,207) |-1.3
West Midlands |24,675,442 |24,505,679 |23,734,314 |(169,763) |-0.7
Wiltshire |3,271,815 |3,259,977 |3,157,363 |(11,838) |0.4
North Yorkshire |3,181,142 |3,247,283 |3,145,068 |66,141 |2.1
South Yorkshire |12,011,042 |11,775,791 |11,405,124 |(235,251) |-2
West Yorkshire |18,846,175 |18,662,490 |18,075,051 |(183,685) |-1
Inner London |37,333,414 |36,696,501 |35,541,405 |(636,913) |-1.7
North East London |8,965,634 |8,914,046 |8,633,459 |(51,588) |-0.6
South East London |5,915,413 |5,878,271 |5,693,241 |(37,142) |-0.6
South West London |4,542,530 |4,517,551 |4,375,352 |(24,979) |-0.5
Middlesex |16,320,936 |16,126,480 |15,618,867 |(194,456) |-1.2
Dyfed |2,051,959 |2,049,153 |1,984,652 |(2,806) |-0.1
Gwent |2,623,790 |2,626,928 |2,544,240 |3,138 |0.1
North Wales |3,454,566 |3,453,344 |3,344,643 |(1,222) |0
Powys |786,562 |768,276 |744,093 |(18,286) |-2.3
South Glamorgan |3,797,786 |3,773,319 |3,654,546 |24,467 |0.6
Mid Glamorgan |3,997,396 |3,986,142 |3,860,670 |11,254 |0.3
West Glamorgan |3,228,344 |3,198,479 |3,097,800 |29,865 |0.9
<1>Figures are in terms of 100 per cent. grant implied by the cash limit and exclude additional funding devolved in 1995-96 to support
partnership grants.
<2>Using the GDP deflator with 1994-95 as the base year.
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responses he has received to the review of probation officer recruitment and qualifying training discussion paper issued by his Department; and how many respondents broadly favour the document's proposals and how many broadly oppose them. [26207]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: We expect to give an account of the nature and balance of the overall response in due course.
Departmental Budget
Mr. Congdon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1995 96 cash and running costs limits within his responsibilities. [27441]
Column 180
Mr. Howard: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised estimate, the cash limit for class VIII, vote 1--Home Office administration, police, probation and other services, England and Wales-- will be reduced by £1,799,000 from £4,438,456,000 to £4,436,657,000. This will enable the transfer of £1,694,000 to the Lord Chancellor's Department in respect of the transfer of responsibility for marriage guidance and a running costs transfer of £105,000 to the Privy Council Office in respect of the Home Office contribution to the central drugs co-ordination unit.
In consequence of these changes the Home Office gross running costs limit will be reduced by £105,000 from £1,740,436,000 to £1,740,331, 000.
Column 181
Juvenile Offenders
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary ofState for the Home Department how many juveniles aged 10 to 16 years were convicted in (a) Lancashire and (b) the north-west for each year since 1992 for each offence. [26727]
Column 182
Mr. Maclean: The information as requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the table shows, in less detail, the number of offenders aged 10 to 16 convicted by type of offence group for the years 1992 and 1993: 1994 data will not be available until the autumn 1995.
Column 181
Number of persons aged 10-16 years convicted at all courts for all offences by area and type of offence 1992, 1993
Lancashire<1> North-west<2> England and Wales
Type of offence |1992 |1993 |1992 |1993 |1992 |1993
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indictable offences
Violence against the person |72 |74 |559 |576 |3,072 |3,152
Sexual offences |4 |9 |57 |42 |246 |261
Burglary |196 |178 |974 |868 |5,449 |5,207
Robbery |22 |16 |184 |222 |931 |1,082
Theft and handling stolen goods |272 |225 |1,577 |1,548 |7,936 |8,361
Fraud and forgery |9 |6 |47 |35 |199 |167
Criminal damage |19 |28 |90 |143 |954 |1,121
Drug offences |7 |6 |94 |69 |334 |266
Other (excluding motoring) |24 |23 |322 |281 |1,037 |1,130
Motoring |2 |4 |43 |20 |270 |132
Total indictable |627 |569 |3,947 |3,804 |20,428 |20,879
Summary non-motoring |204 |200 |1,373 |1,331 |6,673 |6,057
Summary motoring |55 |58 |294 |362 |1,905 |2,324
All offences |886 |827 |5,614 |5,497 |29,006 |29,260
<1> Lancashire police force area.
<2> North-west region = Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire police force areas.
Nigerian Prisoners
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners originally emanating from Nigeria and sentenced for drug offences have been (a) paroled and (b) subsequently deported since 1 January 1994. [26887]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated7 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many prisoners originally emanating from Nigeria and sentenced for drug offences have been paroled and subsequently deported since 1 January 1994.
Since 1 January 1994, forty two prisoners of Nigerian nationality sentenced to imprisonment for drug offences have been granted parole. Forty of these prisoners were subsequently deported.
Convicted Killers
Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have died since 1965 at the hands of previously convicted killers. [27139]
Mr. Maclean: During the period 1965 to date, a total of 72 persons in England and Wales are known to have been killed by persons who had previously been convicted of homicide.
Prison Service Procedures
Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the procedures the Prison Service must follow in order to provide information to the police when serious offenders under long-term imprisonment escape. [27160]
Column 182
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Mike O'Brien, dated 7 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what procedures the Prison Service must follow in order to provide information to the police when serious offenders under long term imprisonment escape.
Every prison establishment is required to hold a set of contingency plans to be followed in the event of an incident. All escapes from establishments and from escort are specifically covered in these contingency plans.
These plans specify that the police must be informed immediately, normally by telephone., The prison is required to give the police details of the escape and the prisoners involved.
Details including a photograph are also sent to the Police Gazette for inclusion in that publication which goes to all police forces.
John Pritchard
Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the governor of Sudbury open prison on the escape of John Pritchard and the speed with which a photograph and other identification information was passed to the police; and if he will make a statement on the circumstances of the escape of John Pritchard from the custody of Her Majesty's Prison Service. [27159]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter have been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Column 183
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Mike O'Brien, dated 7 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the abscond of John Pritchard from Sudbury open prison and the speed with which a photograph and other identification information was passed to the police.Mr. Pritchard was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 1979 and had been at Foston Hall, a satellite wing of Sudbury open prison, since September 1993 where he had behaved well.
On 9 May 1995 Mr. Pritchard was missing from the routine lunchtime roll check and could not be found on the subsequent search of the building and grounds. Derbyshire police headquarters at Ripley was informed at 2.15 pm and a constable from the local police station collected photographs and personal details of Mr. Pritchard from Sudbury at 4 pm.
Mr. Pritchard remains unlawfully at large.
Police National Computer
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current size of each index of the police national computer, indicating the minimum and maximum size of each index over the last year. [26438]
Mr. Maclean: The numbers of records on each of the five databases on the police national computer, on 26 May 1995, are given in the table. The maximum and minimum numbers of records over time are not recorded.
H
|Number
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vehicles |41,396,172
Stolen property |58,888
Phoenix<1> (convictions, disqualified drivers and
wanted and missing persons) |5,314,544
Fingerprints |4,275,907
Crime Pattern Analysis |5,438
<1>Phoenix-the Criminal Justice Record Service-replaced the names
database on 22 May 1995.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current size of each category found in the (a) stolen and suspect vehicle index and (b) wanted and missing person's index of the police national computer, indicating the minimum and maximum size of each category in the index over the year. [26439]
Mr. Maclean: On 26 May 1995, 458,264 vehicles were listed as lost or stolen and details on 44,486 suspect vehicles were recorded. The number of persons listed as wanted or missing was 138,585, but separate figures for the wanted and missing categories are not available. The maximum and minimum numbers of records over time are not recorded.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the number of accesses made to the police national computer by each constabulary over the last year; and what was the proportion of access requests made to the vehicle indexes of the police national computer. [26447]
Mr. Maclean: The number of transactions undertaken on the police national computer by each police force in England and Wales during the 12 months to 30 April 1995, together with the proportion of requests made to the vehicle database, is given in the table.
Column 184
|Proportion of
|transactions
|Number of |undertaken on
|transactions |vehicles database
Police force |undertaken |(per cent.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |1,229,763 |63.0
Bedfordshire |481,728 |64.4
Cambridgeshire |453,788 |68.2
Cheshire |607,382 |56.5
City of London |252,288 |52.5
Cleveland |436,483 |51.0
Cumbria |445,759 |59.2
Derbyshire |649,086 |63.0
Devon and Cornwall |874,883 |62.8
Dorset |617,375 |55.8
Durham |514,522 |52.1
Dyfed Powys |371,754 |48.1
Essex |983,911 |54.2
Gloucestershire |429,875 |62.4
Greater Manchester |2,492,681 |61.6
Gwent |261,464 |53.7
Hampshire |1,176,623 |49.5
Hertfordshire |459,694 |58.5
Humberside |597,371 |61.7
Kent |1,369,684 |57.6
Lancashire |1,456,465 |55.8
Leicestershire |476,043 |60.8
Lincolnshire |410,139 |54.5
Merseyside |933,015 |46.7
Metropolitan |7,838,669 |52.2
Norfolk |481,910 |48.4
North Wales |571,182 |52.7
North Yorkshire |591,548 |62.2
Northamptonshire |536,941 |58.1
Northumbria |1,383,422 |68.0
Nottinghamshire |746,837 |61.2
South Wales |990,282 |60.7
South Yorkshire |921,304 |77.6
Staffordshire |620,090 |60.3
Suffolk |410,070 |65.7
Surrey |490,422 |62.9
Sussex |955,518 |50.4
Thames Valley |1,427,094 |58.6
Warwickshire |372,211 |67.2
West Mercia |760,449 |57.4
West Midlands |2,455,107 |55.2
West Yorkshire |1,609,052 |56.5
Wiltshire |345,455 |59.1
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accesses were made to each index of the police national computer over the last year indicating the number of access requests that involved searching more than one index. [26437]
Mr. Maclean: Data on the police national computer are stored on five databases. The number of transactions, which may involve additional or retrieval of information, undertaken on each database by police forces in England and Wales in the 12 months to 30 April 1995 is given in the table. It is not possible to determine whether transactions undertaken on separate databases are linked, with the exception of those undertaken on both the fingerprint and names databases. There were 798,853 transactions which involved the use of both these databases.
Column 185
F
|Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vehicles |23,976,834
Stolen property |291,118
Names<1> (convictions, disqualified drivers and
wanted and missing persons) |17,360,326
Fingerprints |945,309
Crime pattern analysis |338,005
<1> The names databases was replaced by Phoenix-the Criminal Justice
Record Service-on 22 May 1995.
Neighbourhood Watch Schemes
Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are members of neighbourhood watch schemes; and what are his estimates of the impact of this scheme on crime. [25208]
Mr. Maclean: At the latest count, there were over 130,000 neighbourhood watch schemes in England and Wales covering over 5 million households. The recent police research group report--"Policing and Neighbourhood Watch: Strategic issues"--has confirmed that crime and the fear of crime can be reduced in communities by setting up a neighbourhood watch group. The research also shows that belonging to a group has the added benefits of maintaining public confidence and good police-public relations; safeguarding against vigilantism; and reinforcing community spirit.
In addition, many police forces I have visited have confirmed that neighbourhood watch schemes have played an important part in the fight against crime.
Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations are being given by him to charging fees to members of neighbourhood watch schemes; and if he will make a statement. [25209]
| Next Section
| Home Page |