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Police Numbers

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff are employed in each constabulary. [152998]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on police and civilian numbers for 30 September 2000 can be found in Table 3 and Table 6 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin No. 2-01, "Police Service Strength", which was published on 16 January. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Burglary

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of burglary were admitted to by those serving sentences in Prison Service establishments during (a) 1999 and (b) 2000. [152885]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The number of previous offences of burglary admitted by prisoners has not been collected centrally since 1 April 1999, when the counting rules for detections changed. The new counting rules provide more precise and rigorous criteria for securing a detection, with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. Detections secured through 'prison visits' were omitted under the new counting rules. The total number of burglaries in England and Wales which were cleared up by the police from 'prison visits' in the year ending March 1999 was 58,898, 32 per cent. of all detections of burglaries in that year.

Street Robberies

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many street robberies occurred in London during the six months ending 28 February. [152822]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The most recently available figures, provided by the Metropolitan police, show that there were 18,094 street robberies involving personal property in their area in the six months ending January 2001.

Departmental Policies (South Shields)

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the South Shields constituency, the effects on South Shields of his Department's polices and actions since 2 May 1997. [153084]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Home Office is working to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced, and the protection and security of the public are maintained. Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in Home Office annual reports. A copy of the most recent report, Home Office Annual Report 1999-2000, is available in the Library. The next report will be published shortly. Information on recorded crime and policing is also published. 'Recorded Crime England and Wales, 12 months to September 2000' and 'Police Service Strength England and Wales, 30 September 2000' can be found in

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the Library. The recorded crime statistics include information on recorded crime by Basic Command Unit and Crime and Disorder Partnerships.

The impact of Home Office policies and actions is not normally examined by constituency and the statistics which the Department collects, such as recorded crime, cannot be matched in the way requested although set out are examples relating to the South Shields constituency or the immediate locality:

Reduced Burglary Initiative

South Tyneside All Saints, South Shields were awarded £60,000 under Round One of the Reducing Burglary Initiative. Interventions include: Offender based strategies, use of mobile video recording system and electronic intruder detection measures; crime prevention measures, target hardening. Community based strategies.

Targeted Policing

Northumbria police in partnership with Tynesdale district council, local parish councils and the Northumberland Social Services and probation service were awarded £40,000 under the Targeted Policing Initiative for a project to develop an integrated strategy to tackle crime and disorder in rural towns and remote villages. The project will tackle both localised offending and crime resulting from travelling criminals. A local multi-agency safety group will develop intelligence about offenders and identify 'hot spots'. The project will employ a range of interventions including a mobile police station and the use of Closed Circuit Television.

CCTV

Under Round One of the Crime Reduction Programme's CCTV Initiative, South Tyneside Community Safety Board were awarded around £121,000 for the South Tyneside District Hospital CCTV Project. The project updated and extended the CCTV coverage of South Tyneside District Hospital including the car parks and the staff residential blocks, with the aim of reducing fear of crime, car crime, criminal damage and burglary.

Neighbourhood Warden Schemes

South Tyneside Metropolitan borough council have been awarded £228,000 until 2002-03 for a scheme covering central and eastern Jarrow and western South Shields. The project started on 4 December 2000.

Youth Offending Teams (YOT's)

The local YOT is involved in a number of schemes including establishing restorative approaches and working with victims of crime and has held successful restorative conferences. 35 per cent. of reparation orders/requirements have included an element of direct reparation to victims. There is a very successful project in Biddick Hall where 22 young people involved in serious youth disorder did reparation in the same area repairing damage to a primary school, cleaning off graffiti etc. It has been very well received by local community/residents (and by parents of young people). It is too early to say definitively what the effects of these actions are on re-offending and reducing levels of youth crime. Recent police figures have however led to some concern about youth disorder. In relation to this, there has recently been a seminar funded and facilitated by Government Office for the North East, and in response to the concern the YOT will be taking appropriate action within the context of a proposed youth disorder strategy.

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More generally, all of the policies of the Home Office will impact on the residents of South Shields to a greater or lesser extent. For example:




Information on the Home Office and its policies is also published on its website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk).

Departmental Policies (Houghton and Washington, East)

Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on Houghton and Washington, East of his Department's actions since 2 May 1997. [152993]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Home Office is working to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced, and the protection and security of the public are maintained. Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in Home Office Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, Home Office Annual Report 1999-2000, is available in the Library. The next report will be published shortly. Information on recorded crime and policing is also published. "Recorded Crime England and Wales, 12 months to September 2000" and "Police Service Strength England and Wales, 30 September 2000" can be found in the Library. The recorded crime statistics include information on recorded crime by Basic Command Unit and Crime and Disorder Partnerships.

The impact of Home Office policies and actions is not normally examined by constituency and the statistics which the Department collects, such as recorded crime, cannot be matched in the way requested although set out are examples relating to the Houghton and Washington, East constituency or the immediate locality:

Targeted Policing Initiative

Northumbria police in partnership with Tynedale district council, local parish councils and the Northumberland Social Services and probation service were awarded £40,000 under the Targeted Policing Initiative, to develop an integrated strategy to tackle crime and disorder in rural towns and remote villages. The project will tackle both localised offending and crime resulting from travelling criminals. A local multi-agency safety group will develop intelligence about offenders and identify "hot spots". The project will employ a range of interventions including a mobile police station and the use of Closed Circuit Television.

Youth Offending Teams (YOT's)

Houghton and Washington is covered by the Sunderland YOT. The YOT has worked closely and collaboratively with Sheffield University and KPMG as part of the evaluation of YOT pilots. This involved interviews with parents, evaluation of case files and qualitative interviews with a range of staff. The Social

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Software (YOIS) system was installed in March 2000, has been "bedded in" and is being fully utilised. The Service was involved at the national level in the Youth Justice Board commissioned work with the Trust for the Study of Adolescence to develop a parenting video to use with parents of adolescents. This built upon some of the successful work that had been undertaken in Sunderland as a pilot area for Parenting Orders.

The Service was subject to inspection through the Joint Review of Social Services, which was undertaken in 2000. The following is a direct quotation from the report:


Voice verification is currently being piloted and is being used with bail and remand cases and those subject to community cases. All Pathway projects have been fully developed and have begun to demonstrate their effectiveness. Projects have offered workshops at various conferences and have opened their doors to sharing practice. A partnership has been developed with Gateshead YOT and the Kolvin Regional Forensic Unit to pilot and to evaluate a 10-session cognitive-behavioural programme for young people who offend.

More generally, all of the policies of the Home Office will impact on the residents of Houghton and Washington, East to a greater or lesser extent. For example:





Information on the Home Office and its policies is also published on its website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk.


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