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Foxes
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number and percentage of foxes (a) which perished in the last year and (b) which were killed by a fox hunt. [20814]
Mr. Sackville: The information requested is not available.
Prisoners (Previous Covictions)
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people currently in United Kingdom prisons have served a previous prison sentence for a different offence; and if he will make a statement. [21276]
Miss Widdecombe: 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 Richard Tilt to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 20 March 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many people currently in United Kingdom prisons have served a previous prison sentence for a different offence.
Mr. Kirkwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of recorded crimes were carried out in the United Kingdom by people under the age of (a) 25, (b) 21, (c) 18 and (d) 16 years in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [21272]
Mr. Maclean:
This information is not available centrally for England and Wales. However, the readily available information for persons found guilty at all courts or cautioned for indictable offences is contained in table 5.26 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1995", copies of which are available in the Library. Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective Secretaries of State.
Mr. Dykes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the arrangements for the forthcoming confinement of Roisin McAliskey within the Holloway prison arrangements. [20982]
Miss Widdecombe:
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.
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Letter from Hugh Taylor to Mr. Hugh Dykes, dated 20 March 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the arrangements for Roisin McAliskey's confinement.
Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what has been the trend in burglaries in Greater London since the start of Operation Bumblebee; [21047]
Mr. Maclean:
The commissioner's Operation Bumblebee initiative against burglary was launched across London on 1 June 1993. The main aims of the initiative are to reduce the incidence of burglary, convict offenders and to shift the fear of crime from the victim to the burglar. Since June 1993, there has been a fall of 12 per cent. in the number of reported burglaries in the Metropolitan police district and the clear-up rate has increased from 12 per cent. to 21 per cent.
Operation Eagle Eye, launched in the summer of 1995, targets street crime, one of the crimes that Londoners fear most. Operation Eagle Eye uses the tools of surveillance and intelligence-led policing to target known and suspected offenders in key hotspot areas. The initiative, which is being introduced and monitored in selected divisions, has been effective in stemming the rise in the level of street crime. Between 1992 and 1995, street crime in the Metropolitan police district was rising at an average annual compound rate of over 13 per cent. In 1996, the increase was only 5 per cent. The clear-up rate for street crime has nearly doubled between 1994 and 1996.
There is no doubt that innovative policing methods such as Operations Bumblebee and Eagle Eye have made a real impact on crime levels in the capital.
Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each year since 1992, the number of women who (a) escaped from a prison, (b) escaped from an escort to or from prison, (c) attempted to escape from a prison, (d) attempted to escape from an escort to or from prison, (e) absconded from a prison, (f) escaped from custody while in a hospital undergoing medical treatment and (g) attempted to escape from custody while in a hospital undergoing medical treatment; and how many of (f) and (g) were (i) pregnant and (ii) in labour. [16867]
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Miss Widdecombe:
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 Richard Tilt to Mr. George Howarth, dated 20 March 1997:
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The information requested on current prisoners is not available centrally. The most recent, readily available, information relates to a sample of sentenced prisons in England and Wales at 30 June 1993.
It is estimated that 48 per cent of this sample had served a prison sentence for a previous "standard list" offence (this includes all indictable offences and some of the more serious summary offences). This figure is based on matching information on prisoners in the sample to records on the Home Office Offenders Index. Further details of the sample and the matching process are given on pages 607 of "Prison Statistics, England and Wales, 1993" (Cm 2893), a copy of which is in the Library.
Ms McAliskey will be taken to an outside hospital for the birth of her child. She will not be subject to any form of physical restraint (whether by handcuffs or escort chain) when she leaves Holloway prison in order to be admitted to hospital, nor whilst she is at the hospital. This includes the period when she is giving birth. She has asked for two birthing partners to be present, and this has been approved.
Ms McAliskey will be allowed to keep her baby with her following the birth. Her application to be accepted into Holloway's mother and baby unit was approved on 13 March.
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Operation Eagle Eye. [21048]
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking if he will list for each year since 1992, the number of women who (a) escaped from a prison, (b) escaped from an escort
to or from prison, (c) attempted to escape from a prison, (d) attempted to escape from an escort to or from prison. (e) absconded from a prison, (f) escaped from custody while in a hospital undergoing medical treatment and (g) attempted to escape from custody while in a hospital undergoing medical treatment; and how many of (f) and (g) were (i) pregnant and (ii) in labour.
The information is contained in the attached table with the exception of answer to (f) (i), (ii) and (g) (i), (ii). This information is not held centrally.
| 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) (b) (c) (d) Escapes and attempted escapes by female prisoners from establishments and escort | |||||
| Establishment | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Escort | 9 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Establishment attempt | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Escort attempt | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| (e) Absconds by female prisoners (including absconds from outside hospital) | |||||
| Absconds | 84 | 99 | 144 | 103 | 91 |
| (f) (g) Escapes and attempted escapes from hospital by female prisoners | |||||
| Hospital escape | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hospital attempt | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
1. Escape figures exclude recaptures within 15 minutes where no further offence has been committed.
2. Attempt figures include those recaptured within 15 minutes where no further offence has been committed.
3. All years are financial years--figures for 1996-97 show the position to the end of January 1997.
4. Escort escape and attempted escape figures include Court Escort Service escapes which would have been the responsibility of the police in previous years.
5. Improved arrangements for gathering data on absconds were introduced in Septemberr 1995 and a review of past records has altered earlier statistics by eradicating inaccuracies.
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Prison (Travellers)
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people, classified as travellers, are held in prisons in Great Britain. [21258]
- (2) how many people classified as travellers are currently being held at Feltham remand centre. [21251]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for these matters 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 Richard Tilt to Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, dated 20 March 1997:
- The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions asking, how many people, classified as travellers, are held in prisons in Great Britain and at Feltham remand centre.
- The information requested is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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