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Sentence Reports
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the ratio of specific sentence reports to the total of pre-sentence reports plus specific sentence reports in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000 and (c) 2000-2001. [158929]
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Mr. Boateng: Specific sentence reports became used nationally only at the end of 1999. Figures are available only for the first three quarters of 2000. The proportion of pre-sentence reports that were specific sentence reports was:
- 1st Quarter--5 per cent.
- 2nd Quarter--7 per cent.
- 3rd Quarter--8 per cent.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of pre-sentence reports were delivered within 15 days during the year 2000-01; and if he will make a statement. [158930]
Mr. Boateng: Information collected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation indicates that in the first six months of 2000-01, 71 per cent. of pre-sentence reports were prepared within 15 days. This figure is provisional as not all data are yet available. Information is not yet available for the second six months.
Crime Reduction Directors
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the Crime Reduction Directors in England and Wales, indicating their relevant (a) experience and (b) qualifications. [159036]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The details requested are given in the table.
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| Name | Experience and qualifications |
|---|---|
| David A'Herne--Wales | Served with the South Wales police for 31 years |
| Masters degree in criminology specialised in community policing | |
| Member of the British Society of Criminology | |
| Margaret Geary--West Midlands | Professional probation officer and social worker |
| Experience with Warwickshire social services and West Midlands probation service | |
| Formerly Home Office Government Office co-ordinator for West Midlands | |
| Greg Dyche--Yorkshire and the Humber | Civil servant with experience across a number of Government Departments |
| Six years in Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber | |
| Law graduate | |
| Henry Tam--East of England | Former Assistant Chief Executive of St. Edmundsbury Borough Council in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk |
| Doctorate in Moral and Criminal Responsibility | |
| Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing | |
| Alan Brown--North East | Former Deputy Chief Constable Northumbria police with 33 years service in total |
| Awarded Queen's Police Medal in 1996 | |
| Member of the Institute of Personnel Development | |
| Stephen Brookes--East Midlands | 24 years experience as a service Police Officer with Hampshire, Avon and Somerset and Leicestershire police |
| Led Her majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary thematic inspection 'Calling Time on Crime' | |
| David Smith--North West | 35 years in the Police Service, including nine years as Assistant Chief Constable in both Northumbria and Lancashire police |
| First class honours degree in Social Studies | |
| Paul Rowlandson--South West | 34 years service with Merseyside police, including three years as a staff officer with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary |
| Hugh Marriage--South East | Member of Home Office staff for over 35 years |
| Previously head of the Criminal Policy Strategy Unit | |
| Ellie Roy--London | 21 years with the probation service including four as Chief Probation Officer in Northamptonshire |
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total cost to public funds of the Crime Reduction Directors in England and Wales, their offices and support staff. [159037]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The 10 Crime Reduction Directors took up post between June and October last year. The total cost of the directors, their support staff and associated running costs was £2,043,000 in 2000-01. Crime reduction support staff were employed prior to the appointment of the directors, principally to manage the crime reduction programme funding, and their total cost in 1999-2000 was £529,000.
Football-related Offences
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many football-related offences had been committed by the end of March; and what his Department's baseline figure was. [159035]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The data are not available in the form requested. But as of 20 April 2001, there have been 3,026 arrests in connection with football-related offences at Premier League and Nationwide League grounds this season. This is comparable with last season's figure of 3,137. Football-related arrests continue to be a small proportion in relation to total attendances, which exceed 25 million per season.
Disorder (Reduction)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his baseline for his Department's PSA target to reduce the level of disorder. [159020]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Work is currently in progress to develop an accurate and reliable indicator of the level of disorder. It is expected that the indicator will be based on information gathered from the British Crime Survey. As the relevant questions have been included in the survey only since the start of this year, it is not possible at present to produce a baseline figure. We expect to be able to determine a baseline in the autumn.
Sexual Offenders
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) accredited offender behaviour programmes and (b) accredited offender behaviour programmes for sexual offenders were completed in the financial year 2000-01. [159030]
Mr. Boateng: The total number of accredited offending behaviour programmes completed in Prison Service establishments in 2000-01 was 6,041. Of these, 848 were sex offender treatment programmes. These data are provisional and subject to validation by prisons.
Glidewell Justice Units
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the Glidewell co-located criminal justice units; and if he will make a statement on the targets and performance indicators which he has set for those units. [158952]
Mr. Charles Clarke: 20 co-located Glidewell Criminal Justice Units had been established in police or Crown Prosecution Service premises in 13 criminal justice areas
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by 31 March 2001. A further 56 units are planned for establishment by 31 March 2002. The initial sites are at: Bristol, Crewe, Middlesbrough, Durham, Colchester, Harlow, Southend, Laindon, Basingstoke, Newport (Isle of Wight), Folkestone, Maidstone, Preston, Lancaster, Skegness, Caernarfon, Barnsley, Brierley Hill, Halesowen and Halifax.
Criminal Justice Units are a practical example of independent organisations working together to secure reductions in delay and duplication by sharing resources and developing a common administration. Separate targets or performance indicators have not been set for these jointly staffed units. Police and Crown Prosecution Service staff employed within these units will continue to work towards discrete departmental targets that have been set by their respective and independent organisations.
Young Offenders
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his baseline for his Department's PSA target of reducing by 5 per cent. the percentage of young people who offend. [159018]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Home Office has a Public Service Agreement (PSA) target of reducing the rate of reconvictions of all young offenders by 5 per cent. by 2004 compared to the predicted rate.
The baseline is derived from Police National Computer data on offenders aged 10 to 17 cautioned or convicted in the first half of 1997. The one-year reconviction rate for this period is 33.7 per cent. The target requires that the number of reconvictions be reduced by 5 per cent. by 2004, compared to a predicted rate which incorporates the baseline data as well as other factors. If there were no other factors, the target would require a rate of 32 per cent.
The predicted rate will, however, make allowance for the following:
- (a) Any changes in the age, sex, offence and previous criminal history profile of sentenced or cautioned offenders. These factors are known to be associated with the risk of reoffending;
- (b) External factors associated with other PSA targets, which impact on reconviction, but not on the underlying rate of reoffending, where methodology allows. This is likely to focus on reduced delays in achieving a conviction (PSA target 8) and the increased proportion of recorded crimes where the offender is brought to justice (PSA target 6);
- (c) Subsequent convictions for offences committed prior to the offender commencing the period under study.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases involving persistent young offenders have come before the courts in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001 to date; and how many have come before the courts in the financial years (i) 1997-98, (ii) 1998-99, (iii) 1999-2000 and (iv) 2000-01. [158938]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information is not held centrally in the exact form requested. The following figures relate to persistent young offenders, as defined for the purpose of measuring and monitoring the Government's pledge to halve the time between arrest and sentence from 142 days in 1996. The table shows the number of persistent young offenders who were sentenced (rather than attended a
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court) in England and Wales during the years requested. A figure for 2000-01 cannot be given, as data for the first quarter of 2001 are not yet available.
| Year | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 16,010 |
| 1998 | 18,605 |
| 1999 | 21,151 |
| 2000 | 23,131 |
| 1997-98 | 16,840 |
| 1998-99 | 19,131 |
| 1999-2000 | 22,126 |
| 2000-01 | n/a |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases a final warning has been given to a young offender; in what proportion of such cases the final warning has been followed by an intervention; and if he will make a statement. [159007]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, reprimands and final warnings replaced cautions for young offenders (those aged 10-17). They were introduced in seven pilot areas from the end of September 1998 until 1 June 2000, when both reprimands and final warnings became available nationwide.
The table shows, for each quarter, the number of final warnings issued. Those recorded during the final quarter of 1998 were collected as part of the pilot. Data for 1999 and 2000 are as recorded on the Home Office Court Proceedings and Cautions Database. Data for 2000 are provisional, that for the last quarter not yet available.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | |
| 4th quarter | (23)580 |
| 1999 | |
| 1st quarter | (23)450 |
| 2nd quarter | (23)640 |
| 3rd quarter | (23)490 |
| 4th quarter | (23)470 |
| 2000 | |
| 1st quarter | (23)970 |
| 2nd quarter | (24)2,760 |
| 3rd quarter | (24)6,620 |
| Total | 12,970 |
(23) Seven pilots areas only
(24) Nationwide from 1 June
Data received from Youth Offending Teams show that 55 per cent. of final warnings were followed by an intervention during the period June 2000 to December 2000 (48 per cent. in the quarter June to September and 63 per cent. in the quarter October to December).
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police force area, the average number of days from arrest to sentence in cases involving persistent young offenders at the most recent date for which figures are available. [158936]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: The latest available figures for the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders for each police force area are for the year 2000. These figures were published in the Lord Chancellor's Department Statistical Bulletin 3/2001 on 23 March 2001. A copy of this bulletin will be placed in the Library.
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