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1 Jul 2003 : Column 252W—continued
Power of Arrest
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the relative powers of special constables and community safety officers, with special reference to the power of arrest. [121568]
Ms Blears [holding answer 26 June 2003]: Special constables possess full constabulary powers, including the power of arrest, while they are in their own, or an adjacent, police force.
Community Support Officers (CSOs) have not been given powers of arrest beyond those available to ordinary citizens. In the Police Reform Act 2002 CSOs have been given a power to detain a person who is suspected of a relevant offence, and who has not
1 Jul 2003 : Column 253W
supplied a satisfactory name and address, for up to 30 minutes while awaiting the arrival of a police constable. A relevant offence is:
- a fixed penalty notice offence of littering, dog fouling, or cycling on the footway or
an offence that appears to have caused harassment, alarm or distress to another or
an offence that involves loss of or damage to another's property.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the powers available to community safety officers. [121569]
Ms Blears [holding answer 26 June 2003]: Subject to parliamentary approval the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill will extend the following powers to community support officers (CSOs):
- The power to disperse groups
The power to issue a fixed penalty notice for graffiti and fly-posting.
The power to issue a fixed penalty notice to parents for truancy.
The power to stop cyclists in order to issue a fixed penalty notice for cycling on a footpath.
Prison Incidents
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have (a) escaped and (b) absconded from prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 12 months. [118792]
Paul Goggins: The Public Service Agreement target for escapes was published in 'Public Services for the future: Modernisation, Reform, Accountability'.
The target was to maintain existing performance of no escapes by high risk (category A) prisoners and to ensure that the number of escapes from prisons, and escorts undertaken by Prison Service staff, expressed as a proportion of the prison population, is lower than 0.05 per cent.
The Prison Service met this target for 2002–03. There were five escapes from prisons and no category A escapes in 2002–03.
The table illustrates the number of escapes from prison and absconds broken down by month in the last 12 months.
Note:
The Prison Service definition of an abscond is when a prisoner leaves an open/Category D establishment where there is no physical barrier between them and freedom.
1 Jul 2003 : Column 254W
RAF Fairford
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs of policing operations at RAF Fairford between 1 March and 30 April 2003 were. [119940]
Ms Blears: The Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Police Authority informs me that the best estimate available of the costs of policing operations conducted by the constabulary to date is £3.26 million. Information for the specific period requested is not available.
The additional costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence Police at Fairford in March and April 2003 are estimated at £3.79 million.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested in connection with protests at RAF Fairford between 1 March 2003 and 30 April 2003; and how many of those arrested were subsequently charged with criminal offences. [119941]
Mr. Ingram: The total number of arrests by Ministry of Defence Police and Home Department Police officers between 1 March 2003 and 30 April 2003 at RAF Fairford was 61. Of those persons arrested, 27 were subsequently charged with criminal offences and two are on police bail until September 2003.
Road Safety
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued to the police on their role in (a) education about and (b) enforcement of standards of road use.[R] [121492]
Ms Blears: The National Policing Plan indicates that all police forces and authorities should include in their local policing plans targeted and intelligence led strategies for reducing deaths and injuries on the roads and achieving a safe environment for all road users.
The police are also involved in various localised road safety educational initiatives across the country. The Department for Transport (DfT), which is primarily responsible for road safety education, makes available to police forces its campaigns calendar so that they are aware of the timing of national advertising and can co-ordinate their own activities accordingly. DfT also makes available to the police a range of materials for use in educational initiatives on road safety.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has recently published a road policing manifesto (available at www.acpo.police.uk) with four key aims of enforcing the law, promoting road safety, investigating incidents and patrolling the roads.
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Suffolk Constabulary
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the clear up rate for the Suffolk constabulary was for (a) burglary of dwellings, (b) violence against the person, (c) vehicle crime, (d) robbery and (e) sexual offences since March 2002. [120423]
Ms Blears: The requested information is not yet available. It will be published on 17 July 2003 in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, "Crime in England and Wales 2002–03"
Trespassers
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he issues on the definition of reasonable force in the powers available to people in removing trespassers from their property. [120675]
Ms Blears: The Home Office has recently updated "Be Safe, Be Secure", a practical guide to crime prevention. This covers all aspects of personal safety at home, including how to deal with intruders and what to do on interrupting burglars. One page covers the law on self-defence, which makes clear the principles underlying what you can properly do in self-defence or to protect another person or your property.
Voluntary Organisations (Criminal Records)
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the additional costs to voluntary organisations (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in Suffolk of the Criminal Records Bureau's increase in standard and enhanced disclosure fees. [120415]
Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 26 June 2003, Official Report, column 918W.
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Woodhill Prison
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the agreed staffing levels are at Woodhill Prison in the Close Security Unit; how many staff vacancies there are; and how many staff are normally on duty overnight in the Close Security Unit. [119056]
Paul Goggins: Woodhill prison has a close supervision centre. The agreed staffing level of the close supervision centre is 10 senior officers and 46 officers. On 16 June 2003, there were six officer vacancies. During the night, two officers are on duty. If necessary those officers on night duty are able to call for assistance.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Court Cases (Postponements)
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court cases which have been set down for trial have been postponed because they have not been prepared properly by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 1997. [120690]
The Solicitor-General: The question has been transferred to me as I have responsibility for the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Crown Prosecution Service is party to a joint scheme, with the Department for Constitutional Affairs, to monitor the levels of cracked, ineffective and vacated trials in magistrates courts. The scheme, jointly developed between the two departments, was implemented in all 42 criminal justice system (CIS) Areas in April 2002. The scheme enables court, prosecution and defence practitioners to agree reasons why cases listed for trial are vacated or do not proceed as planned on the day. The data on the agreed reasons is analysed locally, under the stewardship of the Local Criminal Justice Board, so that strategies can be developed to reduce the instances of trials not proceeding.
The results of monitoring for the first three-quarters 2002–03 in respect of cases listed for trial but vacated before the trial date because the prosecution were not ready for trial (further preparation needed) is:
| Magistrates courts data | April to June 2002 | July to September 2002 | October to December 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Total number of trials listed | 45,431 | 46,179 | 45,608 |
| (b) Number of trials vacated before the trial date | 4,697 | 5,476 | 4,893 |
| (c) Number of trials vacated before the hearing date because the prosecution were not ready for trial | 305 | 392 | 338 |
| (d) Trials vacated before the hearing date because the prosecution were not ready for trial as percentage of total trials listed | 0.67 | 0.85 | 0.74 |
There is no similar joint scheme presently in existence across Crown court centres. Work is presently being undertaken between the Crown Prosecution Service and Department of Constitutional Affairs to develop a common scheme for implementation later this year. Pilot schemes have been undertaken in Dorset, Surrey and London since March 2003 with promising results.
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