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HOME DEPARTMENT
Violent Crime
14. Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the increase in violent crime since 1979 (a) in London and (b) in the United Kingdom. [7861]
Mr. Howard: Since 1979, there has been an increase of 203 per cent. in the Metropolitan police district, compared with 138 per cent. in England and Wales; for the City of London police force area, recorded violent crime fell by 33 per cent. Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective Secretaries of State.
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21. Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the change in the rate of crimes of violence against the person since 1979 in (a) London and (b) England and Wales. [7869]
Mr. Howard: Since 1979, there has been an increase of 168 per cent. in the rate of crimes of violence against the person in the Metropolitan police district compared with 128 per cent. in England and Wales. But in the City of London police area, recorded crimes of violence against the person fell by 29 per cent. over the same period. The category of crime about which the hon. Gentleman has asked is different from the category in the question from his hon. Friend, the Member for Ilford, South (Mr. Gapes) which I have just answered.
Security (Lichfield)
15. Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will visit Lichfield to review city centre security; and if he will make a statement. [7862]
Mr. Maclean: My right hon. and learned Friend has no immediate plans to visit Lichfield. As my hon. Friend will know, however, Lichfield was a successful bidder in last year's closed circuit television challenge competition, receiving a grant of more than £93,000. I understand that the CCTV system is due on-line in the spring. I am sure that this will provide an enhanced level of security in the city centre.
Ministerial Visits
16. Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers visited the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man in 1995; and what subjects were discussed. [7863]
Mr. Sackville: My right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Blatch visited the Channel Islands on 18-21 April 1995. She discussed a wide range of issues, including the islands' relationship with the European Union and fisheries.
Boot Camps
17. Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the establishment of boot camps in the United Kingdom. [7864]
Miss Widdecombe: Twenty-four written or oral representations have been made by hon. Members. In addition, 113 letters are recorded as having been received from individuals and organisations expressing views both for and against the introduction of boot camps.
Obscenity and Pornography
18. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further measures he is taking to combat obscenity and pornography. [7866]
Mr. Sackville: The Government will continue to monitor the adequacy and effectiveness of our controls on obscene and pornographic material. To this end, the interdepartmental group on obscenity is currently looking at the dissemination of, and ways of controlling access to, pornography on computer networks.
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Wheel Clamping
19. Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on current policy regarding wheel clamping on private land; and what proposals he has in this regard. [7867]
Mr. Maclean: The Government believe that wheelclamping can be a sensible and effective means of controlling parking on private land if it is carried out responsibly, taking proper account of the legitimate rights and interests of motorists. In other circumstances it can given rise to problems.
The Government are considering what action, if any, should be taken to deal with these problems.
Metropolitan Police
20. Mr. Sims: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the size of the Metropolitan police service and the resources available to it. [7868]
Mr. Howard: The Government are making available £1.65 billion to the Metropolitan police in 1996-97--£20.5 million more than last year. In addition, the 2 per cent. ceiling on the amount the Metropolitan police can carry forward from one year to the next has been removed. This is likely to be worth an extra £25 million on top of the existing maximum of £34 million. I have not yet received the Commissioner's detailed expenditure proposals for 1996-97, but I expect to see even more officers deployed on the streets of London during 1996-97.
Crime (Women's Fears)
22. Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated of the fear of crime among women. [7870]
Mr. Maclean: There are 11 publications on this subject and I have arranged for a list of these, together with copies of the actual studies to be lodged in the House of Commons Library.
25. Ms Church: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to combat the fear of crime among women. [7874]
Mr. Maclean: We are aware that women are generally more fearful of becoming victimes of crime, and for that reason women can be seen as the primary interest group in our crime prevention activities. The best way to tackle fear of crime is to tackle crime itself. We continue to pursue a comprehensive strategy to combat crime, through the second phase of the partnership campaign which was launched this month; through the provision of practical advice on measures which people can take to help keep themselves safe; and through the use of technology, such as closed circuit television. The Home Secretary recently announced a new competition which will inject another £15 million into CCTV schemes up and down the country. We are also aware of the need to tackle domestic violence; and we have established inter-departmental groups at official and ministerial level to promote a
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co-ordinated response to the problem at a national and local level. And the recent public awareness campaign placed the issue firmly on the public agenda. Last year the Government published an interagency circular on domestic violence which set out the Government's approach to the issue and encouraged a more co-ordinated response to the problem by local agencies.
Police Station Closures
23. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the numbers of police station closures and downgradings since 1987; and if he will make a statement. [7872]
Mr. Maclean: The information is not collected centrally.
Holloway Prison
24. Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of conditions at (a) Holloway prison and (b) other prisons at which women prisoners are being held. [7873]
Miss Widdecombe: The current conditions at Holloway have been brought to the attention of my right hon. and learned Friend by the Chief Inspector of Prisons. He expressed grave concern over a restricted regime, poor hygiene and cleanliness, poor standards of health care, low staff morale and the general management of the establishment.
I have asked the temporary Director General of the Prison Service to add to steps already taken before the chief inspector's visit to bring the establishment up to an acceptable operational standard.
Livestock Rustling
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had about the incidence of livestock rustling; and how many such offences have been reported to the police in recent years. [9714]
Mr. Maclean: One hon. Friend has written, and one hon. Member has asked a previous question about the theft of livestock.
Statistics on the theft of livestock are not held centrally.
Anti-crime Measures
Mr. Riddick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the contribution to combating crime arising from the introduction of (a) the national DNA database and (b) closed circuit television; and what plans he has to expand the scope of each. [9690]
Mr. Maclean: The national DNA database was launched in April 1995. On 17 January 1996, the database held over 23,000 DNA profiles and 284 matches had been made between suspects and scenes of crime, or between one scene of crime and another. Of these matches, 15 were across police force boundaries.
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