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7 Nov 2002 : Column 822W—continued

Detection Rates

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of reported crime the North Wales police detected in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001. [79522]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 5 November 2002]: Details for crime are published for financial years, most recently in XCrime in England and Wales 2001–02", of which table 8.01 contains the data on the amount of recorded crime which is detected. A copy is available in the Library.

The figures available for North Wales are for financial years and are as follows:




Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a league table of police forces in England and Wales by detection rates. [79523]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 5 November 2002]: Details for the financial years 1997–98 to 2001–02, were published in table 8.01 of XCriminal Statistics England and Wales 2000", and are given in the table. A copy of the publication is available in the Library.

As different police forces have different crime mixes, comparing overall detection rates between forces is of limited value. This is because different types of crime tend to have different detection rates, and so a police force with which has a higher proportion of types of crime with high detection rates will tend to have a higher overall detection rate. Also, police forces may give

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priority to tackling particular types of crime, with the detection rate of those crimes having some effect on the force's overall detection rate.

The detection rates for 2001–02 may have been affected in comparison to those of the previous year as a result of some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard in advance of its national implementation on 1 April 2002.

There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which increased the total number of crimes counted in each police force area, and

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therefore may have affected the detection rate. Detection rates after this date are therefore not directly comparable with previous years.

There was a change in the counting rules for detections on 1 April 1999, the new instructions providing more precise and rigorous criteria for securing a detection, with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. For example, detections obtained by the interview of a convicted prisoner were no longer included. Numbers of detections before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.

Recorded crime: annual detection rates by police force area and region 1997–98 to 2001–02
Percentages

Police force1997–98(14)1998–99(15)1999–2000(16)2000–012001–02
Cleveland2323222120
Durham3033323433
Northumbria2630313131
North East Region2629292929
Cheshire3437313026
Cumbria4144393432
Greater Manchester2025232221
Lancashire2934292726
Merseyside3131262824
North West Region2629262523
Humberside2122192120
North Yorkshire2633313026
South Yorkshire3232252523
West Yorkshire2727252319
Yorkshire and the Humber Region2728242421
Derbyshire2631282625
Leicestershire3434302828
Lincolnshire4640282527
Northamptonshire3533333331
Nottinghamshire2625212018
East Midlands Region3131272524
Staffordshire3432222324
Warwickshire2926222225
West Mercia2734292729
West Midlands2530272829
West Midlands Region2831262728
Bedfordshire3533252725
Cambridgeshire2829252422
Essex(17) 2829302626
Hertfordshire(17) 3334272424
Norfolk3637302625
Suffolk3941363533
East of England Region3233292626
London, City of2833322734
Metropolitan police(17) 2522161514
London Region2522161514
Hampshire3035322929
Kent3134332828
Surrey(17) 3540322825
Sussex2625252325
Thames Valley2525202224
South East Region2830272526
Avon and Somerset2624222214
Devon and Cornwall3436353432
Dorset3031262527
Gloucestershire2631303130
Wiltshire3238333030
South West Region2931282723
Dyfed Powys6269656364
Gwent5155535755
North Wales3643363128
South Wales3639313233
Wales4146404139
England and Wales2829252423
England and Wales(18) 2931282726

(14) Excluding offences of Xother criminal damage" of value #20 and under prior to March 1998.

(15) Percentage detected using the expanded coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.

(16) Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999.

(17) Forces affected by boundary changes in April 2000.

(18) Excluding London Region.

Note:

Numbers of recorded crimes and detections will be affected by changes in reporting and recording. For further information see chapter 3 in XCrime in England and Wales 2001–02".


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Disability Discrimination (Prisons)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to start applying the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to prisons and prisoners. [77850]

Hilary Benn [holding answer 20 October 2002]: The Prison Service has already issued policy guidance for the management of disabled prisoners and staff to all establishments. This reflects the requirements of each stage of the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA).

Prisoners are required to review and change, if necessary, their procedures and practices and to make reasonable adjustments to their services and facilities to ensure that they are accessible to disabled people. Prisons have also published local policy documents outlining what people with disabilities are able to expect at that establishment.

The Prison Service is developing a comprehensive disability strategy which will ensure disability issues are reflected in its practices and policies. This will raise awareness and commitment, and enable the Prison Service to implement the final stage of the DDA in 2004.

Domestic Violence and Rape

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has collated of variations between different police force areas in England and Wales in (a) recorded instances of rape, (b) recorded instances of domestic violence, (c) the clean up rate of recorded instances of rape and (d) the clean up rate of recorded instances of domestic violence. [75069]

Hilary Benn: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Drug Arrests

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for possession of (a) cannabis, (b) ecstasy and (c) heroin in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [78961]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Information collected centrally on arrests for notifiable offences does not separately identify individual offences. However, data provided in

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the table shows persons found guilty, cautioned, given a fiscal fine, or dealt with by compounding for possession of cannabis, ecstasy-type and heroin from 1996–2000. The figures cover the UK.

The data are taken from the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin, which is available on the RDS website (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb402.pdf), and copies are available in the Library. These figures are due to be updated in the spring of 2003.

Table 1. Number of persons found guilty, cautioned, given a fiscal fine, or dealt with by compounding for unlawful possession of cannabis, ecstasy-type, heroin in the UK, 1996 to 2000(19)

CannabisEcstasy-typeHeroin
199665,0952,9834,958
199779,0853,1497,231
199891,1482,4309,681
199982,1293,45610,326
200070,3065,1949,608

(19) No court appearance data available for Northern Ireland 1998 to 2000.

Note:

Breakdown by drug type for Northern Ireland not available for 1996 to 2000.

Source:

Home Office Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom, 2000(Supplementary Tables.



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