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Remand Prisoners
29. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with the installation of safe cells for remand prisoners. [21133]
Beverley Hughes: Progress with the installation of safer cells was summarised in my written replies to the hon. Member on 25 October 2001, Official Report, columns 229–30W. A total of 681 safer cells will be installed in prisons in 2001–02. These cells will be used for all categories of prisoners, including those on remand.
Prison Health Service
30. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in improving links between the prison health service and the NHS. [21134]
Beverley Hughes: The first annual report of the Prison Health Policy Unit and Task Force, which was published last month, records the progress made during the first year of the partnership between the prison and national health services. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library. The text of the report is also available on the prison health section website of the Department of Health www.doh.gov.uk/prisonhealth.
Drug Testing and Treatment Orders
32. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the introduction of drug testing and treatment orders. [21136]
Beverley Hughes: Between 1 October 2000, when the Drug Treatment and Testing Order was rolled out to courts in England and Wales, and 31 October 2001, 3,956 orders were made, of which 1,089 were revoked. Implementation of the order is being closely monitored by the National Probation Service and consideration is being given to how research can assist us to understand the longer-term effectiveness of this new court disposal. It is, however, still too early for any independently evaluated information on the effectiveness of the order since roll-out.
The order had previously been piloted for 18 months in three areas. An independent evaluation of the pilot schemes found that on average there were significant reductions in the spending on illegal drugs and number of crimes committed by offenders subject to Drug Treatment and Testing Orders.
Crime (Christmas Holiday)
33. Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to reduce crime over the Christmas period. [21137]
Mr. Denham: The Government's £1 million advertising campaign to cut drink driving was launched on 4 December and features new radio adverts to complement a major television offensive. Guidance has been issued to the police which will better co-ordinate the response of the emergency services to domestic violence. Publicity material has also been sent to police forces to assist local campaigns warning the public not to leave valuables on display in their home or cars.
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Police Auxiliaries
34. Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to appoint (a) police auxiliaries and (b) neighbourhood wardens in the Metropolitan police area. [21138]
Mr. Denham: The White Paper "Policing a New Century" outlines our proposals for developing the "Extended Police Family". This represents a major increase in the capacity of the police and others to provide an effective public presence giving reassurance and support for decent civil communities.
The appointment of Community Support Officers is an operational matter for the Chief Officer and neighbourhood wardens are usually employed by a local authority.
Police Numbers
37. Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the number of police officers. [21141]
Mr. Denham: By next spring police strength will have reached the all time record of 128,290 officers. I have set a target for police strength to reach 130,000 officers by spring 2003.
To help forces reach these targets, the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) is funding the recruitment of 9,000 officers over and above forces previous recruitment plans in the three years to March 2003. In addition, the first ever national recruitment campaign for the police service was launched in August 2000. By early December 2001 over 45,000 expressions of interest generated by the campaign had been forwarded to forces.
Rehabilitation
38. Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on training and into work schemes undertaken by the correctional services to help rehabilitate offenders. [21142]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The Prison Service and National Probation Service (NPS) are committed to improving the employability and employment of offenders.
The Prison Service has a target of doubling the number of released prisoners getting jobs or training places by 2004, and pathfinder schemes in employment and resettlement are being developed by NPS in conjunction with the Employment Service and Prison Service respectively.
Victims of Crime
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his oral answer of 19 November 2001, Official Report, column 7, on victims of crime, if he will publish figures on the time it takes the police forces of the United Kingdom to answer telephone queries from the public; and if he will make a statement. [21157]
Beverley Hughes: The most recent information on call handling in forces in England and Wales was published on 16 October, Command Paper 230, in the "Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary 2000–01", a copy of which is placed in the Library. This covers 999
17 Dec 2001 : Column: 83W
calls only. Information on response times for non- emergency calls to the police is not collected centrally. Information on Scottish forces is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and, for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Re-offending Rates
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has collated on re-offending rates of discharged prisoners who have served sentences of more than two years, broken down by (a) prisons and (b) type of programmes provided within prisons in (i) 1999–2000 and (ii) 1998–99. [22443]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 11 December 2001]: Information on re-offending rates for discharged prisoners is not collected. However information on two-year reconviction rates is collected and published annually in Prison Statistics England and Wales. The latest reconviction rates cover prisoners discharged during 1997 and the first quarter of 1998 and are contained in chapter 9 of Prison Statistics England and Wales 2000 (Cm. 5250) a copy of which is available in the Library. Prisoners who have served sentences of two years or more will often have spent time in a number of prisons. It is therefore difficult to attribute reconviction rates to the impact of a particular prison.
Two offending behaviour programmes within prisons have been evaluated using offenders' reconvictions following discharge. The following tables show the percentage of offenders (both treated and similar untreated offenders) who have been reconvicted of an offence within two years of discharge by risk category. Comparison group offenders were matched to those who had participated in treatment on factors which are known to increase the likelihood of reconviction eg age at discharge, number of previous offences etc. This is to ensure, as far as possible, that the evaluation was comparing like with like offenders.
Table 1 refers to offenders who participated in two pre-accredited cognitive skills programmes (Thinking Skills and Reasoning and Rehabilitation). These offenders were treated between 1994 and 1996 and had been sentenced to two years or more. Table 2 refers to offenders who completed the pre-accredited Sex Offender Treatment Programme between 1992 and 1996 and had been sentenced to four years or more.
Overall, the results illustrate that offenders who have participated in offending behaviour programmes have consistently lower reconviction rates, two years after discharge, than similar untreated offenders.
Table 1. Evaluation of Prison Service Cognitive Skills Programmes.
| Offender risk level | Treatment group reconviction rate | Comparison group reconviction rate | Difference between reconviction rates(17) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| Medium-low | 18 | 32 | 14 |
| Medium-high | 43 | 54 | 11 |
| High | 75 | 80 | 5 |
| Adjusted overall | 44 | 52 | 8 |
(17) Percentage point reduction
1. Reconviction rates reflect the proportion of offenders reconvicted after two years. Offenders were treated between 1994 and 1996 before the accreditation process was introduced. The treatment group consists of 667 offenders and the comparison group consists of 1,801 offenders.
2. The adjusted overall figure takes account of the different number of offenders in the treatment and comparison group.
17 Dec 2001 : Column: 84W
| Offender risk level | Treatment group reconviction rate | Comparison group reconviction rate | Difference between reconviction rates(18) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 1.9 | 2.6 | 0.7 |
| Medium-low | 2.7 | 12.7 | 10.0 |
| Medium-high | 5.5 | 13.5 | 8.0 |
| High | 26.0 | 28.1 | 2.1 |
| Adjusted overall | 4.6 | 9.9 | 5.3 |
(18) Percentage point reduction
Note:
Reconviction rates reflect the proportion of offenders reconvicted of a sexual and/or violent offence after two years. Offenders were treated between 1992 and 1996 before the accreditation process was introduced. The treatment group consists of 647 offenders and the comparison group consists of 1,910 offenders. The adjusted overall figure takes account of the different number of offenders in the treatment and comparison group.
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