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Essex Police (Special Branch)

Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Special Branch constables were employed by Essex police on 1 September. [132636]

Ms Blears: It is not our policy to disclose details of Special Branch deployments at force level in the interests of national security, as to do so could compromise operations.

Juvenile Offenders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed by juvenile offenders in (a) Haltemprice and Howden, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) the Humberside Police Authority area in each of the last two quarters for which figures are available; and how many cautions were issued. [132525]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 16 October 2003]: The information contained in the table gives the number of children convicted of all offences and those given reprimands and final warnings in Humberside, during the last two quarters of 2001.

The information collected centrally does not enable cases in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency to be identified nor cautions in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Neither is it possible to give the number of crimes committed by juveniles, only the number of juveniles who are found guilty of all offences.

Statistics for 2002 will be published in December.

Number of children found guilty at all courts for all offences and those given reprimands and final warnings⁽¹¹⁾, Humberside, last two quarters of 2001

	2001
Area, age and disposal etc	Qtr 3	Qtr 4	Total
East Riding of Yorkshire
Children aged 10–17 found guilty	112	93	205
Children aged 10–17 receiving a reprimand	n/a	n/a	n/a
Children aged 10–17 receiving a final warning	n/a	n/a	n/a
Humberside Police Force Area
Children aged 10–17 found guilty	477	382	859
Children aged 10–17 receiving a reprimand	247	186	433
Children aged 10–17 receiving a final warning	129	74	203

n/a = Not available

⁽¹¹⁾ Reprimands and final warnings replaced cautions for juveniles from June 2000.

Metropolitan Police (Rental Vehicles)

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent by the Metropolitan police on rental vehicles in each month since March. [133971]

Ms Blears: The information requested is in the table. It has been provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

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Breakdown for each month: April 2003—September 2003

Month	Total (£000)
April 2003	(12)204
May 2003	497
June 2003	961
July 2003	1,203
August 2003	864
September 2003	668
Totals:	4,397

⁽¹²⁾ This figure takes account of retrospective year end adjustments (credits for accruals) for 2002/03.

Open Circuit Television (Monmouth)

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up an investigation into the contract to install open circuit television in Monmouth and the role of the then Acting Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Mr. Richard Thomas; and if he will make a statement. [130871]

Ms Blears: There are no plans for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to set up an investigation.

I am advised by Gwent Police that Gwent Police Authority requested an investigation by the District Auditor relating to issues surrounding CCTV in spring 2000. The preliminary results of this inquiry led the Chief Constable of Gwent to refer the matter to the Chief Constable of West Mercia for a full criminal investigation relating to the then retired Acting Chief Constable, Richard Thomas, and others. Work on this started in July 2000. At the conclusion of the investigation a report was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, who having considered the evidence, concluded on 31 January 2002 that there would be no criminal proceedings. The recommendations within the District Auditors report are being pursued by Gwent Police Authority.

Police

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his powers to recommend the capping of police authorities. [133611]

Ms Blears: The Home Secretary has no power to recommend the capping of police authorities.

Powers to cap local authority budgets rest with my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Prescott).

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the daily average proportion of police officers' time spent out on patrol following the introduction of community support officers and other civilian support staff. [134251]

Ms Blears [holding answer 27 October 2003]: An analysis of diaries kept by 378 officers in seven forces prior to the introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) found that 17 per cent. of regular officers' time was spent on patrol. The Police Reform Act 2002 powers, which allowed the designation of CSOs and other support staff, were commenced on 2 December 2003. We have not yet repeated the exercise.

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However, a programme of research into the nature, frequency and effectiveness of beat patrolling by police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) is under way. Results will be reported as soon as available.

We know that there is significant variation between forces in the amount of time officers spend on front line duties, including patrol. We are, as part of the Police Performance Assessment Framework, collecting data from forces so that we can publish a baseline estimate of front line policing for all forces next year. We will then use this data to drive time spent on front line policing up, concentrating on those areas where time spent is lowest.

Most forces currently spend around 60 per cent. of their time on front line policing and I would like to increase that figure.

Police Authorities

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police authorities employ chief executives. [134249]

Ms Blears [holding answer 27 October 2003]: Section 16 of the Police Act 1996 allows each police authority to appoint a clerk to the authority. It is a matter for each police authority to decide if the postholder is termed a chief executive. We do not hold information on this centrally.

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police authorities have (a) a portfolio structure around themes of community leadership, performance appraisal and strategy development and similar areas of activity and (b) a panel structure. [134250]

Ms Blears [holding answer 27 October 2003]: Section 6(1) of the Police Act 1996 lays upon police authorities the responsibility for securing and maintaining an efficient and effective police force for its area. How the authority organises internally to achieve this, is a local matter for the authorities themselves and not for central Government. Accordingly, there is no information held centrally by the Home Office on the internal structure of each authority.

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his model internal structure for a local police authority. [134252]

Ms Blears [holding answer 27 October 2003]: The 43 local police authorities have the overarching responsibility to secure and maintain an efficient and effective police force for their area.

How police authorities decide to structure the organisation is a matter for the authorities themselves in accordance with local circumstances. It would not be appropriate for central Government to provide a model structure for police authorities.

Police Officers (Protection from Violence)

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to protect police officers against violence while on duty. [133994]

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Ms Blears: All police forces within England and Wales operate within the Health and Safety (Police) Act 1997 and must, therefore, conduct and maintain appropriate risk assessments into the roles of their staff. Where a risk is identified, control measures must be introduced to avert the risk or lessen its impact to an acceptable level.

In terms of officer safety, the most significant control measures include regular, mandatory self-defence training and the provision of equipment, such as batons, handcuffs and incapacitant spray. All police forces in England and Wales have access to dual-purpose body armour (knives and ballistic) either as a general or pool issue. Specialist officers also receive additional Personal Protective Equipment.

Snares

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been carried out in each police authority area for the illegal use of snares in the last five years. [133977]

Paul Goggins: Prosecutions for the illegal use of snares are brought under section 11(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. However, the information collected centrally on court proceedings does not distinguish offences connected with snares from similar offences under section 11 relating to other methods of killing or taking wild animals.

Two prosecutions under section 11 in England and Wales were notified to the Home Office in 2001, one of which was in the North Wales police force area and the other in Greater Manchester.

Statistics for 2002 will be published in December.

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