| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Nov 2003 : Column 441W—continued
Community Support Officers
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the powers of community support officers. [134936]
Ms Blears: 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.
3 Nov 2003 : Column 442W
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.
Crime Statistics
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed per head of population in the (a) Avon and Somerset, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Leicestershire, (d) Nottinghamshire and (e) South Yorkshire police force areas in the last five years for which figures are available. [135044]
Ms Blears [holding answer 29 October 2003]: The requested information is given in the table.
| Police force area | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon and Somerset | 102 | 99 | 99 | 118 | 117 |
| Bedfordshire | 89 | 96 | 88 | 92 | 108 |
| Leicestershire | 101 | 102 | 92 | 94 | 104 |
| Nottinghamshire | 131 | 133 | 135 | 154 | 159 |
| South Yorkshire | 102 | 101 | 96 | 104 | 120 |
There was a change of counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which had the effect of increasing the number of crimes counted. Numbers of offences for years before and after this date, and figures calculated from them, are therefore not directly comparable.
The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) was introduced across England and Wales in April 2002. Some police forces adopted the Standard prior to this date. Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire police force areas introduced the Standard in April 2002, and Avon and Somerset police introduced the Standard in October 2000. Broadly, the NCRS had the effect of increasing the number of crimes recorded by the police. Therefore, following the introduction of the Standard numbers of recorded crimes and figures derived from them are not comparable with previous years.
Dog Thefts
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase penalties on conviction for the theft of pet dogs; and if he will make a statement. [132838]
Ms Blears [holding answer 21 October 2003]: There are no plans to increase penalties for the theft of pet dogs. The courts already have robust sentencing powers for theft: the current maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment.
The Government believe that these penalties sufficiently reflect the seriousness of the offence.
Mobile Phones
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was to his Department of mobile phones supplied to ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [123149]
3 Nov 2003 : Column 443W
Fiona Mactaggart: To provide the hon. Member with a full answer will incur disproportionate cost. I can, however, provide information on mobile phones and associated equipment purchased via our central procurement unit since 1997, which is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 175.00 |
| 1998 | 5,516.16 |
| 1999 | 163,933.83 |
| 2000 | 146,201.48 |
| 2001 | 46,491.25 |
The cost of mobile phones and associated equipment purchased for core Home Office staff via our central procurement unit during 2002 was £64,750. Information is not held centrally on call and line rental charges and could be provided, again, only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been under the Mobile Telephones (Reprogramming) Act 2002. [133970]
Ms Blears: The information requested is not available through our formal statistical channels. Court proceedings for offences under the Mobile Telephone (Re-programming) Act 2002 only became identifiable in the statistics collected centrally in January 2003. Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn of 2004 to ensure all court data is validated and corrected.
However, police forces have been running operations and several arrests and charges have already been made under the Act. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 641W.
North Wales Police
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers have been employed by North Wales police in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [134507]
Ms Blears: The first year in which community support officers (CSOs) could be recruited was 2002–03. North Wales police had no CSOs in that year. This financial year, they planned to recruit eight CSOs and all eight commenced employment on 1 September 2003.
People Trafficking
Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase penalties for those engaged in the trafficking of (a) women and (b) children for the illegal sex industry in England and Wales. [134353]
Beverley Hughes: The Government takes very seriously the issue of trafficking people for sexual exploitation. At present, the Nationality, Asylum and Immigration Act 2002 contains an offence of trafficking for prostitution, which makes it an offence, punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment, to traffic someone (whether an adult or a child) into or out of the United Kingdom for the purposes of exploiting them in prostitution.
3 Nov 2003 : Column 444W
The Sexual Offences Bill, introduced into the House of Lords on 28 January 2003 proposes new comprehensive offences of trafficking for sexual exploitation to replace the stop-gap offence introduced by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. These new offences tackle the movement of people into, within and out of the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation, and will also carry maximum penalties of 14 years imprisonment. The offence relating to trafficking within the UK applies equally to UK nationals trafficked from place to place in the UK, and to foreign nationals brought here and then moved around from place to place within the UK. This is the first time that the trafficking of UK nationals within the UK has been tackled in legislation.
Internationally, we are committed to addressing the issue of trafficking by our involvement with the EU Framework Decision on combating the trafficking of human beings, and the UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking.
We believe 14 years is the appropriate maximum penalty for trafficking an adult or child. This is the highest determinate penalty available to the courts and we consider that it provides a proportionate response to the range of criminal behaviour involved in trafficking. Where the trafficked person is also subjected to a sexual or violent offence, this can be charged in its own right and the offender will then additionally be liable for the penalties that attach to those offences.
Police
Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many ex-police officers are being paid a pension because of early retirement through ill health; and what monitoring systems are in place to ensure that the ill health is not transient. [134543]
Ms Blears: The requested figures are not centrally available. However the number of ill-health retirements within the police service has been falling over recent years from a level of 14.8 per 1,000 officer strength in 1997–98 to 8.8 per 1,000 in 2001–02.
Regulation K1 of the Police Pension Regulations 1987 gives the police authority the discretion to review whether the disablement of a person in receipt of a police ill-health pension has ceased. Such reviews can be held at intervals that the authority considers appropriate. We would expect police authorities to continue to review the circumstances in any case where it was felt that there was a reasonable prospect for the cessation of disablement and that the former officer could be re-engaged.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been killed in each of the last five years by the police (a) during police action, (b) as a result of police pursuits and (c) in police custody. [134728]
Ms Blears: In each of the last five years, for which Home Office figures have been published, the total number of people who died during or following police action are as follows.
3 Nov 2003 : Column 445W
1997–1998—69
1998–1999—67
1999–2000—70
2000–2001—52
2001–2002—70
Eleven died during or following police pursuits and 40 died in or following police custody.
Four died during or following police pursuits and 41 died in or following police custody.
Ninteen died during or following police pursuits and 30 died in or following police custody.
Seventeen died during or following police pursuits and 25 died in or following police custody.
Thirty died during or following police pursuits and 22 died in or following police custody.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) crimes committed there were in police authority areas in England in the last year for which figures are available. [135320]
Ms Blears [holding answer 30 October 2003]: The latest published information on the number of police officers by police force area in England is published in Table 1 of 'Police Service Strength, England and Wales, 31 March 2003' (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 11/03).
The latest published information on the number of crimes recorded in each police force area in England is contained in Table 6.04 of 'Crime in England and Wales 2002/03' (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 07/03).
Copies of both publications are available in the Library.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |