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Departmental Smoking Policy
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce smoking in his Department. [105799]
Mr. Straw: Since 1997, smoking has not been allowed in the main central London Home Office buildings, except in designated smoking rooms. National "No Smoking" campaigns are regularly promoted by poster displays, leaflets and other publicity material. "Stop Smoking" courses and displays (organised in conjunction with QUIT) have been held to help staff who wish to give up smoking. A similar programme of events will be run this year.
Drug-related Crimes
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed (a) in the last 12 months and (b) in the last three years in the UK that were drug-related. [105321]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Statistical data are collected on drug offences only, not on offences which may have been committed due to drug taking. A report published in 1998 on research carried out on behalf of the Home Office by the University of Cambridge sheds light on the links between drugs and crime. Further data are currently being analysed as part of the NEW-ADAM programme for interviewing and drug testing arrestees. It is hoped to publish the next set of full results in the first half of this year.
The research undertaken so far on drug testing of arrestees, based in five locations, indicates that over 60 per cent. of arrestees had recently taken at least one illegal drug prior to arrest. Cannabis was found most often (46 per cent. of cases); heroin/opiates (18 per cent.) and
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cocaine/crack (10 per cent.) featured quite prominently. These findings confirm the supposition that offenders tend to be heavy consumers of drugs.
Nearly half the arrestees who reported taking drugs within the last year said that their drug misuse was connected with their offending. Among various factors, they emphasised the need for the money to buy drugs. The illegal income of arrestees who said that they had taken heroin and/or crack during the last three days was particularly high--within a range of £10,000 to £20,000 annually. This compared with £4,000 for other arrestees. Illegal income mainly resulted from acquisitive crimes against property. An estimated 32 per cent. of all illegal income was spent on purchasing heroin and/or crack cocaine.
While this study considerably advances knowledge of drugs-crime links, it will always be difficult to calculate a single percentage figure reflecting precisely what proportion of all crimes is drug-related.
Figures on drug offences in 1997 were published in April 1999 in Home Office Statistical Bulletin No. 8/99 "Drug seizure and offender statistics, United Kingdom, 1997". Figures for 1998 will be published in February 2000, copies of which will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) heroin, (b) cocaine and (c) synthetic drug seizures have been made in the (i) last and (ii) preceding 12 months; [105322]
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Mr. Charles Clarke:
In 1997, the last year for which published figures are available, the number and average weights of selected drugs seized by police and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise were as given in the table. It is not meaningful to calculate the average weight of all drug seizures. Further figures on drug seizures in 1997 were published in April 1999 in Home Office Statistical Bulletin No 8-99 "Drug seizure and offender statistics, United Kingdom, 1997". Figures for 1998 will be published in February 2000, copies of which will be placed in the Library.
(2) what was the average weight of (a) heroin, (b) cocaine, (c) cannabis, (d) synthetic drugs and (e) all controlled drugs in seizures (i) in the last and (ii) in the preceding 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [105323]
| Number of seizures | Average quantity seized | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug | Police | Customs | Police | Customs |
| Heroin | 12,311 | 163 | 40 grams | 10,719 grams |
| Cocaine | 3,068 | 684 | 91 grams | 3,038 grams |
| LSD | 831 | 20 | 195 doses | 86 doses |
| Ecstasy-type | 4,996 | 91 | 93 doses | 16,056 doses |
| Cannabis (herbal) | 25,703 | 3,684 | 323 grams | 6,197 grams |
| Cannabis (resin) | 77,111 | 2,135 | 841 grams | 25,304 grams |
| Cannabis (plants) | 3,783 | 1 | 30 plants | 40 plants |
| Amphetamine | 18,429 | 146 | 128 grams | 6,405 grams |
Note:
"Synthetic drug" has been taken to mean the following--Amphetamine, LSD, and Ecstasy-type drugs
Source:
Home Office Drugs Research and Statistics Section
Drug Prices
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the average street prices of (a) heroin and (b) cocaine per gram in London and Glasgow in the (i) last and (ii) preceding 12 months. [105320]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The National Criminal Intelligence Service collects information on street level prices of drugs. The average prices for heroin and cocaine at the end of 1997 and at the end of 1998 were as given in the table.
| London | Glasgow | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Heroin | Cocaine | Heroin | Cocaine |
| December 1997 | 60-100 | 60-120 | 60-80 | 50-80 |
| December 1998 | 80 | 60-120 | 60-80 | 50-80 |
Note:
These prices are based on average purity levels and do not reflect the fluctuations in price which may occur within an area as the result of law enforcement action, other interruption of supply, or even over-supply. The ranges quoted for the above areas are indicative of the most typical prices paid for a one gram wrap of the drug(s). It is not possible to give wholly accurate ranges as a large number of factors come in to play. However, the prices quoted represent a reasonable average price in the areas. Drugs are frequently sold for prices outside these ranges, and prices can be inflated by cutting drugs, and by selling under measures. Prices increase when small amounts such as £10 or £20 deals are sold.
Source:
National Criminal Intelligence Service
Car Theft
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to combat car theft. [105155]
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Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Government have announced a target to reduce vehicle crime by 30 per cent. over five years and set up a Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team to develop a strategy for achieving it. The Action Team published a report in September 1999 which set out a comprehensive strategy for achieving the target.
The main measure the Government have taken to date to tackle vehicle crime is to make available £150 million over three years for Closed Circuit Television. Improving car park security (where the 1998 British crime Survey suggests 22 per cent. of vehicle crime takes place) was a priority in Round 1.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will request a report from the Commissioner for Police for the Metropolis on the incident in which a CS gas canister was discharged at Heathrow Airport on 18 October 1999. [105594]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Commissioner for Police for the Metropolis informs me that at 3.50 pm on 18 October, complaints were received from passengers in Terminal 1 Departures about irritation to their eyes, nose and throat. Emergency services attended and found a CS spray canister in a rubbish bin. It appears that fumes from the canister entered the air conditioning system. Nineteen people were affected by the fumes, 14 of whom were taken to Hillingdon Hospital for treatment but discharged within two hours.
The Commissioner tells me that the canister was manufactured in the United States of America, of a type commonly used there for personal safety, and that it was probably discarded by a passenger prior to being scanned before departure. The canister was taken by the police, for disposal.
Mr. Mudie:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was his Department's estimate of the average cost of making and enforcing an anti-social behaviour order at the time of the passage of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998; [105557]
(3) what is the cost per order of making and enforcing an anti-social behaviour order in (a) Birmingham, (b) Leeds, (c) Manchester, (d) Newcastle, (e) Liverpool and (f) Sheffield. [105556]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The costs quoted in the Financial and Explanatory Memorandum for the Bill assumed an average additional cost of £600 per anti-social behaviour order. This took account of offsetting savings.
Records of the numbers of orders granted and their cost are not held centrally. At this stage, it is too early to say with any accuracy how much it will cost on average to make and enforce orders in these local authority areas.
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After an order is made, any breach of it will be subject to criminal proceedings. Enforcement in the form of criminal prosecution for a breach has, as far as we are aware, taken place in respect of one order, in Newcastle.
Mr. Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on programmes to combat anti-social behaviour in each of the last 10 years. [105708]
Mr. Charles Clarke
[holding answer 18 January 2000]: The Government provided specific powers to the police and local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Since 1999, agencies and partnerships have been able to bid for funding to help them tackle crime and disorder including anti-social behaviour under the Government's three year Crime Reduction Programme. An example of one which has done so is the Humberside police which has received £406,000 for a targeted policing project to reduce anti-social behaviour and low level criminal behaviour on five beats in Kingston upon Hull. The South Wales police have also received funding of almost £1 million for several targeted policing projects which aim to reduce crime and disorder by young people and public disorder.
(2) how many anti-social behaviour orders have been enforced since the passing of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in (a) Birmingham, (b) Leeds, (c) Manchester, (d) Newcastle, (e) Liverpool and (f) Sheffield; [105558]
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