---

Home Detention Curfew Scheme

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 March 2000, Official Report, column 561W, on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme, if he will provide a breakdown by offence committed of the number of prisoners released listed under (a) other homicide and attempted homicide, (b) wounding, (c) assaults, (d) drugs, (e) other violence against the person and (f) other motoring offences. [116692]

Mr. Boateng: A breakdown of the first five categories of original offences in question committed by prisoners released up to 14 March 2000 under the Home Detention Curfew scheme, and the number convicted of each type of offence, are given in the table. A breakdown of the 1,530 offences listed as "other motoring offences" is not available centrally.

29 Mar 2000 : Column: 140W

Offence	Number
Other homicide/attempted
Attempted murder	5
Making threats to kill	29
Conspire, aid, incite murder	1
Death by reckless driving	115
Total	150
Wounding
Wounding (inflicting GBH)	1,392
Assault occasioning ABH	819
Assault with intent to cause GBH	48
Total	2,258
Assaults
Assault with intent to resist arrest	8
Other assault	335
Obstruct/resist constable	7
Assault on police officer	91
Total	441
Drugs
Production	103
Supply	969
Possession with intent	1,238
Possession	396
Unlawful import/export	190
Other drugs	35
Total	2,931
Other violence against the person
Cause explosion, place explosive	2
Possess firearms with intent	133
Possess offensive weapon	83
Other violence against person	17
Total	235

Corporate Manslaughter

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will include in his proposals to combat crime further provisions relating to corporate manslaughter; and if he will make a statement. [116503]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Government set up an inter-departmental working group of officials to consider the recommendations made by the Law Commission in their report number 237 "Legislating the Criminal Code: Involuntary Manslaughter". One of those recommendations was that there should be a new offence of corporate killing.

The conclusions of the inter-departmental working group were passed to Ministers in late December and we are continuing to consider how to take the matter forward. We expect to publish our conclusions for consultation shortly.

Correspondence

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter dated 22 February from the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West, regarding Samuel Adams. [115860]

Mr. Straw: I wrote to the hon. Member on 27 March.

29 Mar 2000 : Column: 141W

Domestic Violence

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is given to police officers on dealing with domestic violence; and if he will make a statement. [115915]

Mr. Charles Clarke: National Police Training (NPT) deliver training on domestic disputes and domestic violence during the Probationer Training Programme undergone by all recruits to the police service. This training is designed to make students aware of the legal framework within which they will operate, the role of the police service and other agencies, and the powers open to them.

The National Operations Faculty, part of NPT, offers a three-day course at Bramshill called "Quality of Service to Women Victims of Domestic Violence". The course is open to senior police officers of the rank of Inspector and above and covers a range of issues including:

the criminal victimisation of women;


applying quality of service to the care of women victims;


strategies to develop an appropriate response to domestic violence;


current patterns of victimisation;


role and status of women as victims;


current legal remedies; and


domestic violence and crime audits.

NPT has just completed a Training Needs Analysis to establish whether additional training is needed in this area of policing. The results are expected shortly and will be taken forward by the National Operations Faculty and NPT as quickly as possible.

Prisons (Reference Books)

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirement his Department imposes concerning the availability of updated legal reference books to prison inmates in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [116333]

Mr. Boateng: All prison establishments in England and Wales are required to make legal reference books available to prisoners. Prison Service Headquarters issue a mandatory list of publications to be held, which is currently being updated.

Demonstrations

Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on restrictions connected with demonstrations with placards within a one mile radius of the House of Commons. [116275]

Mr. Charles Clarke: There are no general restrictions connected with demonstrations with placards within a one mile radius of the House of Commons. Section 52 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 may be enforced when demonstrations may result in obstruction or disorder which may impede the free passage of Peers and Members to and from the Houses of Parliament on any day on which Parliament is sitting. Additional bye-laws apply within the Royal Parks and the Mall.

29 Mar 2000 : Column: 142W

Remand Prisoners

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what privileges are granted to (a) convicted and (b) unconvicted remand prisoners; and if he will make it his policy that all remand prisoners should be treated for this purpose as unsentenced prisoners. [116286]

Mr. Boateng: Under the national policy framework for incentives and earned privileges, Prison Service establishments in England and Wales operate local schemes which allow all prisoners to earn a range of privileges through good behaviour and performance. They include enhanced access to private cash, visits, pay, in-cell television, association, and the right of prisoners to wear their own clothes.

All unconvicted prisoners have certain minimum entitlements in view of their status. For example, they are permitted to have extra visits, letters and reading materials, to conduct business activities and to wear their own clothes. Incentive and privilege schemes for these prisoners must respect these minimum entitlements and provide further enhancements for good behaviour. We have no plans to extend unconvicted prisoners' privileges to convicted, but unsentenced, prisoners.

Crimestoppers

Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends taking to increase public confidence in, and awareness of, the Crimestoppers system of reporting suspected criminals; and if he will make a statement. [116465]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Government fully recognise the valuable work that Crimestoppers does to help in the fight against crime. Ministers attend Crimestoppers Trust events to support its work as other commitments allow. At the recent London Board of Crimestoppers annual dinner, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary expressed his belief that all Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships should be aware of the potential benefits of involving Crimestoppers in their work when drawing up strategies. I intend to host a small seminar to discuss the possibilities of voluntary sector organisations such as Crimestoppers and Neighbourhood Watch working more closely together at local level to identify ways of increasing a more co-operative approach.

Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested in each of the last five years as a result of information supplied to Crimestoppers; and if he will break down the categories of offence in respect of the most recent year for which figures are available. [116466]

Mr. Charles Clarke: According to information supplied by Crimestoppers Trust, the number of people arrested and charged for each of the last five years as a result of information supplied to Crimestoppers was as follows:

Year	Arrested and charged
1995	3,355
1996	4,347
1997	4,726
1998	5,169
1999	5,300

These figures can be broken down into the following categories for 1999:

29 Mar 2000 : Column: 143W

Crime	Total arrested and charged
Murder	38
Attempted murder	22
Rape	13
Robbery	202
Assault	181
Burglary	338
Firearms	28
Handling stolen goods	209
Drugs	2,308
Arson	34
Theft	410
Vehicle crime	667
Sexual assault	18
Fraud	141
Other crimes	691
Total	5,300

The total number of people arrested and charged as a result of information supplied to Crimestoppers for the period 1 January 2000 to 29 February 2000 is given as 842.

Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions he has met representatives of Crimestoppers. [116467]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary attended the London Board of Crimestoppers' annual dinner on 14 March and attended a lunch to promote Crimestoppers to the Asian Community in October 1998. In addition, Ministerial colleagues attended the Crimestoppers' Tenth Anniversary Ball in December 1998 and intend to visit the Crimestoppers Trust Head Offices in Putney in the next few months.

Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money was allocated by the Government to fund Crimestoppers in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available. [116468]

Mr. Charles Clarke: No funding has been allocated by the Government to Crimestoppers in the last five financial years.

---