| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Jul 2003 : Column 271W—continued
Correspondence
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Crosby regarding delays in releasing persons subject to immigration control from Her Majesty's Prison Liverpool at the end of criminal sentences. [124240]
Beverley Hughes: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 14 July 2003.
Crime (Older People)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what initiatives to tackle crimes against older people his Department is responsible. [124439]
Ms Blears [holding answer 10 July 2003]: Elderly people are far less likely to suffer crime than younger people. But in recognition that crime against older people is particularly distasteful, we have funded several schemes specifically to tackle this problem.
We set up a Distraction Burglary Task Force in 2000 to facilitate a multi-agency approach to reducing the problem of bogus callers and rogue traders. The task force includes people from different agencies who work with older people, such as Age Concern and Help the Aged, as well agencies such as the police. It has invested substantial resources and effort in promoting local schemes to tackle the problem, liaising with utility companies and others that need to call on the elderly, gathering data and publicising good practice both to the elderly and to those that work with them.
Under the Crime Reduction Programme, we funded a two-year programme (the Locks for Pensioners scheme) to provide home security upgrades for low income pensioners in areas with burglary rates above the national average. The scheme was run in conjunction with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra's) Warm Front scheme, and, under it, over 58,000 homes received additional locks or bolts.
The Locks for Pensioners scheme has ended. But it is now open to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to fund local schemes where they identify crime against the elderly as a problem in their area. We cannot provide comprehensive data on locally funded projects for the elderly as this information is not held centrally. However, we know that interventions being implemented include improving the appearance and security of homes, sharing intelligence with all the involved agencies, educating people in crime reduction measures and providing reassurance and assistance.
15 Jul 2003 : Column 272W
The work we are taking forward to tackle crime generally, while not solely aimed at older people, deals with many of the concerns they have about their safety.
General initiatives which may have a particular impact on older people include the introduction of Community Support Officers tasked with tackling low-level crime and anti-social behaviour of the sort that causes older people much concern, and work with the Department of Health to evaluate the effectiveness of security technology in reducing crime and the fear of crime in two pilot hospitals and one ambulance service
Dangerous Dogs
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities have initiated prosecutions under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; how many have resulted in convictions; and how many dogs responsible for attacks were not ordered to be destroyed. [125648]
Ms Blears [holding answer 14 July 2003]: It is not possible, in the statistics collected centrally, to identify those prosecutions initiated by local authorities.
The available information, relating to all prosecutions and convictions under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in England and Wales between 1992 and 2001 is given in the table.
Figures for 2002 will be available in the autumn.
Details of cases where dogs responsible for attacks are not destroyed are not collected centrally.
| Year | Proceeded against | Found guilty |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1,222 | 575 |
| 1993 | 984 | 434 |
| 1994 | 617 | 260 |
| 1995 | 554 | 220 |
| 1996 | 449 | 159 |
| 1997 | 504 | 241 |
| 1998 | 764 | 406 |
| 1999 | 802 | 442 |
| 2000(37) | 823 | 446 |
| 2001 | 886 | 522 |
(36) These data are on the principal offence basis.
(37) Staffordshire Police were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates' court for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data these data are not robust at a detailed level and have been excluded from this table.
15 Jul 2003 : Column 273W
DCS Ellie Baker
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what progress is being made in the internal police investigation into the conduct of Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker; [123695]
- (2) if he will list (a) the name, (b) rank and (c) length of time for which they have been involved in the investigation of each officer involved in the internal police investigation of Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker; [123696]
(3) whether compensation will be paid to Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker for the criminal investigation into her conduct. [123697]
Ms Blears: The West Midlands Police inform me that the internal investigation is drawing to a close. Independent legal advice has been sought and shared with the Police Complaints Authority, who are currently considering further written representations submitted by Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS) Baker in May, before they make their recommendations on whether she should face misconduct proceedings.
The West Midlands Police inform me that the overall Senior Investigating Officer is Mr. Robert Quick, formerly a Commander of the Metropolitan Police Service and now the Deputy Chief Constable of Surrey Constabulary. Mr. Robert Quick has been involved in the case since the outset in November 2002. Other
15 Jul 2003 : Column 274W
officers who have been involved in the internal investigation of DCS Baker are from the respective Professional Standards Units of the West Midlands Police and the Metropolitan Police Service and include ranks from Detective Constable up to Detective Superintendent. As these officers are often involved in covert policing methods investigating acts of serious corruption and unethical behaviour, the West Midlands Police do not wish to disclose their names and details publicly.
The West Midlands Police advise me, however, that DCS Baker is aware of the actual identities of many of the officers involved in the investigation and, in particular, those who have performed key roles.
At present the West Midlands Police consider that they would have no cause to pay compensation to DCS Baker.
Departmental Policies (Pendle)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what policies (a) initiated and (b) managed by his Department since 2001 have had an impact on Pendle; and if he will make a statement. [124093]
Ms Blears: Most of the policies initiated by the Home Office since 2001 have had an impact on Pendle as on other parts of the country. Our policies in the areas of crime reduction, community cohesion and policing are providing direct benefits to the people of Pendle, as follows. 1. Crime Reduction Initiatives
| Name of initiative | Total amount of funding awarded | |
|---|---|---|
| CCTV | 2001–02 | 201,000 |
| Communities against drugs | 2001–02 and 2002–03 | 169,600 |
| Safer communities initiative | 2002–03 | 32,125 |
| Partnership Development Fund (PDF) | 2002–03 | 20,000 |
| Small Retailers in Deprived Areas (SRDA) | 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 | 71,698 |
| Building Safer Communities Fund (BSC) | 2003–04 | 120,867 |
| Basic Command Unit Fund (BCU)(38) | 2003–04 | (38)214,571 |
| Total | (inclusive BCU) 829,861 | |
| (exclusive BCU) 615,290 |
(38) BCU allocation is for the Pennine BCU which includes Burnley, Rossendale and Pendle. The allocation will be used across the BCU area; it is not possible to quantify how much will be utilised in Pendle itself.
Interventions funded by crime reduction allocations included: a town centre Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system, targeted policing operations, mobile CCTV, an initiative on tackling domestic violence, supporting youth mentoring, installation of security improvements and funding community support workers.
2. Community Cohesion Initiatives
The Community Cohesion Pathfinder Programme, launched by the Home Office and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in October 2002, aims to build examples of areas that are successfully mainstreaming community cohesion into all their core service delivery functions. The programme encompasses local authorities, the community and voluntary sector, and communities themselves. Pendle is one of the five authorities (together with Lancashire County Council, Burnley Borough Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and Rossendale Borough Council) which make up the successful East Lancashire Community Cohesion Pathfinder. This will receive a total of £285,000 to spend in the period February 2003 to October 2004.
The Home Office Community Cohesion Unit has worked closely with the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit of the ODPM, and through Government offices has funded community cohesion-focused activities for children and young people during the summer of 2001 and 2002 (in 2003 this has become incorporated into a single funded inter-Departmental programme). In 2001 around £7 million was provided for summer activities.
Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP)
On 29 October 2002, the Street Crime Action Group (SCAG) commissioned the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and
15 Jul 2003 : Column 275W
Sport (DCMS) to report on the evaluation of summer activities in 2002 and on progress on simplifying funding.
In December, SCAG approved the key design features and objectives of the new programme based on a simplified single pot for funding. The confirmed total funding pot for 2003–04 is £24.7 million. The formula for the new programme, which for the first time is being developed in each Local Education Authority (LEA) area in the North West, is a national one. It is based on three indicators of need: levels of truancy, offending rates (specifically rates of robbery), and the numbers of young people aged 8–19 in each area.
It is not possible to provide a figure for Pendle, but each Government office has the flexibility to adjust the allocations by up to 15 per cent. of the regional total. The allocation to Lancashire has been increased by over £115,000 and GO-NW staff are looking to the LEA to take forward enhanced activities in east Lancashire in Burnley, Pendle and Hyndburn.
The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit of the ODPM and Government offices have also funded the community facilitation programme, under which regional co-ordinators have been appointed to undertake conflict resolution work where tensions are identified, and to strengthen existing capacity for conflict resolution. This programme has raised the profile of community cohesion at the regional and local level and facilitated the building of relationships and partnerships between agencies to address community cohesion and conflict. It has successfully supported the development of new approaches to addressing community conflicts.
Pendle, Rossendale and Burnley are boroughs within the Pennine division of the Lancashire constabulary. Lancashire as a whole has benefited from a £0.06 million rural policing grant. Each borough has its own Chief Inspector answering to the Chief Superintendent of Pennine Division. The force has informed us that the borough Pendle has benefited from the following Government initiatives.
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) | 86 | 169 | 197 | 240 | 692 |
| Community Support Officers | 30 | 50 | 80 | ||
| Street Crime | (39)70 | 70 |
(39) This is an equal portion of the 210,000 allocated to the Pennine Division
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |