Previous Section Index Home Page


Prison Officer Housing Units

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officer housing units are available for allocation to prison officers in England and Wales. [20433]

Beverley Hughes: Entitlement to occupy quarters was ended for Prison Officers in 1987. Since that time quarters have been sold either to occupying officers under discount sales schemes or, where vacant on the open market. Fifty quarters are retained for occupation by Chaplains who continue to have a quarter entitlement. Also, approximately 400 quarters retained on security or operational grounds are available for occupation by prison staff, and these are reallocated by Governors upon becoming vacant.

Sri Lankan Tamils

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Sri Lankan Tamils are being held in (a) detention centres and (b) prisons in the United Kingdom awaiting removal from the UK for immigration offences; and if he will make a statement. [20439]

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 700W

Angela Eagle: The latest available information on persons detained under Immigration Act powers relates to 30 September 2001. The number of Sri Lankans being held in detention centres and prisons as at that date is given in the table.

Place of detentionSri Lankan Immigration Act detainees as at 30 September 2001(46)
Immigration detention centres10
Dedicated Immigration Service wings(47)20
Prison establishments(48)20
Total persons detained in detention centres and prisons(48)55

(46) Figures rounded to the nearest five, and may not sum due to rounding. Excludes persons detained at Oakington Reception Centre.

(47) Persons detained at the dedicated Immigration Service wings at Haslar, Lindholme and Rochester.

(48) Includes 10 persons detained under dual immigration and other powers.


It is not possible to separately identify how many of these persons are Sri Lankan Tamils. Information on how many of these persons were awaiting removal from the United Kingdom for immigration offences on 30 September 2001 is not available and could be obtained only by examining individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Information on Immigration Act detainees as at 31 December 2001 will be published on 28 February 2002 on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ immigration1.html.

Rape

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of rape were reported in England and Wales in 2000 that resulted in charges being made against the alleged perpetrators. [20435]

Mr. Keith Bradley: The requested details are not collected centrally. Of the 8,593 offences of rape recorded in England and Wales in the year ending March 2001, 3,992 were detected. During the 2000 calendar year a total of 2,046 individuals were proceeded against at magistrates courts for rape. As the recorded crime figure relates to offences, and the proceedings figure relates to individuals, who may be prosecuted for more than one rape offence, these figures are not directly comparable.

Home Office Research Study 196 'A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s' found that 42 per cent. of a sample of recorded cases of rape of a female in 1996 resulted in a charge.

Police Corruption

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were cautioned in the course of an investigation for corruption in (a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999 and (e) 2000. [20499]

Mr. Denham: The information required to answer this question is not held centrally and to seek this information from all police forces would involve a disproportionate cost.

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 701W

Hoax Emergency Calls

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of hoax calls to the emergency services he estimates to be made from mobile telephones; and if he will require mobile telephone operators to co-operate with the investigation and prosecution of hoax callers. [20487]

Mr. Denham: Making a hoax call to the emergency services constitutes improper use of a public telecommunication system and is an offence under section 43 of the Telecommunications Act 1984. Data on the number of prosecutions for malicious abuse of the public telephone system are not collected centrally.

Accidental calls, characterised by silence on being answered, account for some 20 per cent. of 999 calls. Silent calls are now routed to a recorded message requiring confirmation that emergency services are required. Oftel is working with manufacturers to improve mobile phone design to reduce the risk of accidental engagement of 999.

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for reducing the fear of crime. [17314]

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 702W

Mr. Denham: The target is to ensure that by 2004 levels of fear of crime in the key categories of violent crime, burglary and car crime are lower than in 2001. The measure is the British Crime Survey, and the 2001 survey provides us with a baseline against which to measure progress against this target. The 2001 baseline is: 22.3 per cent. of the population fear violent crime; 16.5 per cent. fear burglary and 18.5 per cent. fear car crime.

Tackling the fear of crime is critical to improving the quality of life for many. The British Crime Survey shows that fear of crime has been falling in the key crime categories over a number of years, although we know that some individuals, communities or groups may be more susceptible to fear than others. Our crime reduction programme aims to secure substantial reductions in the level of fear of crime by 2004, as we achieve real reductions in actual crime levels.

Police Complaints

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints were (a) registered and (b) upheld and what the level of complaints was as a percentage of the effective strength of each police constabulary in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years. [20370]

Mr. Denham: Available information is for England and Wales only. Complaints and discipline statistics are published annually in a Home Office Statistical Bulletin. The latest statistics relating to 2000–01 were published on 14 November 2001 in issue number 21/01. Details are given in the tables.

Complaints received by the police

1996–971997–981998–991999–20002000–01
Avon and Somerset9761,035852871845
Bedfordshire217247161207194
Cambridgeshire458473410390281
Cheshire489600597556495
Cleveland375342326400318
Cumbria419315289286283
Derbyshire384443400421298
Devon and Cornwall760911798645704
Dorset185164165239267
Durham166163181168181
Essex573559510538549
Gloucestershire323328272296258
Greater Manchester2,1492,1812,2112,2811,807
Hampshire948897654594523
Hertfordshire312466416502491
Humberside431444425410364
Kent657675624678620
Lancashire886848850918682
Leicestershire292266280315333
Lincolnshire169141310328313
London City of133126696360
Merseyside2,0282,2701,4291,312911
Metropolitan Police9,1228,0377,1546,6115,830
Norfolk423519326433365
Northamptonshire294331256212221
Northumbria650671629668661
North Yorkshire370343363441441
Nottinghamshire754812689817770
South Yorkshire473454551666582
Staffordshire587598511629803
Suffolk287308268374229
Surrey497561639477460
Sussex8641,0761,1531,7341,814
Thames Valley742604768756768
Warwickshire165180206194205
West Mercia506517454578410
West Midlands1,6811,6761,5901,8681,884
West Yorkshire966864796871795
Wiltshire162185259230266
Dyfed-Powys202183180148157
Gwent427446505557487
North Wales392353381439297
South Wales965723752733747
England and Wales33,85933,33530,65931,85428,969

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 703W

Complaints against the police upheld

1996–971997–981998–991999–20002000–01
Avon and Somerset1526281627
Bedfordshire1431196
Cambridgeshire2342152818
Cheshire1611171110
Cleveland1321205
Cumbria21770
Derbyshire265827
Devon and Cornwall1438262422
Dorset36735
Durham75154
Essex142225612
Gloucestershire12123115
Greater Manchester2220203040
Hampshire3022242220
Hertfordshire151210820
Humberside81891414
Kent2726242663
Lancashire3012151326
Leicestershire101510513
Lincolnshire126657
London City of75643
Merseyside11712636
Metropolitan Police203236146168138
Norfolk2611281117
Northamptonshire91697
Northumbria8126312
North Yorkshire1310272016
Nottinghamshire151311226
South Yorkshire313111814
Staffordshire7962034
Suffolk121124115
Surrey7517717
Sussex3323315479
Thames Valley2732233745
Warwickshire66469
West Mercia146231311
West Midlands2361472638
West Yorkshire5426131319
Wiltshire2275311
Dyfed-Powys13154
Gwent73538
North Wales5914713
South Wales2817111317
England and Wales834850745714903

Complaints received as a percentage of police strength

1996–971997–981998–991999–20002000–01
Avon and Somerset3335292929
Bedfordshire1923152019
Cambridgeshire3736323123
Cheshire2429292725
Cleveland2623222823
Cumbria3828252526
Derbyshire2225232417
Devon and Cornwall2632272225
Dorset1513131920
Durham1211121112
Essex2019171920
Gloucestershire2929252723
Greater Manchester3132323327
Hampshire2826191715
Hertfordshire1826242928
Humberside2122212119
Kent2121192119
Lancashire2826262821
Leicestershire1514141617
Lincolnshire1512262928
London City of1515888
Merseyside4654343122
Metropolitan Police3330272523
Norfolk3036233126
Northamptonshire2628221920
Northumbria1818171717
North Yorkshire2826273334
Nottinghamshire3335303735
South Yorkshire1514172118
Staffordshire2727222837
Suffolk2526233120
Surrey3035402926
Sussex2835386164
Thames Valley2016202021
Warwickshire1719222123
West Mercia2525232922
West Midlands2424222626
West Yorkshire1917151716
Wiltshire1316222024
Dyfed-Powys2018181415
Gwent4136414539
North Wales2826273221
South Wales3224252526
England and Wales2727252624

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 705W

Complaints upheld as a percentage of police strength

1996–971997–981998–991999–20002000–01
Avon and Somerset0.500.870.940.530.92
Bedfordshire1.240.271.020.860.58
Cambridgeshire1.863.231.162.201.46
Cheshire0.800.540.830.530.50
Cleveland0.920.140.810.000.36
Cumbria0.180.090.600.620.00
Derbyshire1.470.280.450.110.39
Devon and Cornwall0.481.330.880.830.77
Dorset0.240.470.530.230.38
Durham0.500.340.070.320.26
Essex0.490.740.850.210.43
Gloucestershire1.061.060.271.000.45
Greater Manchester0.320.290.290.440.59
Hampshire0.900.640.690.630.58
Hertfordshire0.880.680.570.461.13
Humberside0.390.880.450.710.72
Kent0.870.800.740.811.97
Lancashire0.950.370.460.400.82
Leicestershire0.520.770.500.250.65
Lincolnshire1.050.500.500.440.63
London City of0.810.580.730.510.41
Merseyside0.250.170.280.140.88
Metropolitan Police0.740.880.560.640.54
Norfolk1.860.771.960.801.23
Northamptonshire0.780.080.510.790.63
Northumbria0.220.330.160.080.32
North Yorkshire0.980.751.971.501.25
Nottinghamshire0.650.560.040.541.18
South Yorkshire0.100.410.350.570.44
Staffordshire0.320.410.260.891.57
Suffolk1.050.932.020.920.44
Surrey0.430.311.060.420.95
Sussex1.070.751.031.902.80
Thames Valley0.730.870.610.991.20
Warwickshire0.610.650.430.661.00
West Mercia0.690.291.140.640.58
West Midlands0.320.860.660.360.53
West Yorkshire1.050.500.250.260.39
Wiltshire0.162.340.430.260.98
Dyfed-Powys0.100.300.100.490.38
Gwent0.670.240.410.240.63
North Wales0.360.661.000.500.93
South Wales0.930.570.370.440.58
England and Wales0.670.680.600.580.74

Note:

Police strength as of 31 March before the beginning of each financial year


10 Dec 2001 : Column: 707W


Next Section Index Home Page