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11 Feb 2004 : Column 1500W—continued

Forensic Science

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes have been solved by the use of forensic science in each of the forensic science service laboratories in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [153503]

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Ms Blears: It is not possible to provide figures for the number of crimes that have been solved by the use of forensic science as convictions are achieved through integrated criminal investigation and not by forensic science alone. The contribution that forensic science makes to criminal investigation has been assessed separately for:

(a) DNA analysis

(b) non-DNA analysis (for example toxicology and analysis of trace evidence such as fibres, glass etc.).

The Home Office collects data on the number of crimes that have been detected, where DNA match report was available. However, it is important to note that the availability of DNA intelligence in the crime may not have been causal in solving the crime.

The total number of crimes in which a DNA match report was available that were detected for police forces in England and Wales were as follows:

	Number of crimes in which a DNA match was available
2000–01	14,785
2001–02	15,894
2002–03	21,098

No data are available on "DNA detections" for each FSS laboratory.

(a) Non-DNA analysis

The contribution of forensic science in the provision of both intelligence and evidence to criminal investigations has been evaluated internally by the Forensic Science Service (FSS). Such assessment is based on the number of cases where the FSS has judged its contribution to be effective. This information has only been recorded from April 2003-January 2004 inclusive, and is set out for each FSS laboratory in the table following.

FSS laboratory	Number of evidential cases where the FSS has judged its contribution to be effective	Number of intelligence cases where the FSS has judged its contribution to be effective
Birmingham	3,030	19,536
Chepstow	1,741	238
Chorley	3,680	768
Huntingdon	1,448	9,960
London	3,557	1,837
Wetherby	2,645	686
Overall(16)	16,103 (77 per cent.)	33,025 (80 per cent.)

⁽¹⁶⁾ Percentage figures relate to the total number of cases submitted in the stated period for 'evidential' or 'intelligence' casework.

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how long DNA samples are held by the Forensic Science Service. [153767]

Ms Blears: Retention periods depend on the purpose for which the sample was taken, and are as follows:

Crime scene samples on unsolved cases may be kept indefinitely, especially for the more serious cases. For crime scene samples on solved cases the usual retention period is seven years, but it may be up to 30 years for the serious cases in the event of a possible miscarriage of justice and to capitalise on new scientific developments.

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Following amendment of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 samples of suspects can now be held indefinitely.

Where individuals have volunteered to provide samples for intelligence purposes these may also be retained indefinitely provided the individual has given their written consent for its retention.

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the storage of DNA samples by the Forensic Science Service. [153768]

Ms Blears: The laboratories that analyse DNA samples, including those within the Forensic Science Service, are also responsible for their retention, integrity, security and, where appropriate, their destruction. The conditions under which these laboratories store such samples must fulfil the requirements of the International Quality Standard ISO 17025 and the Data Protection Act 1998.

In addition, it is a specific requirement of the Custodian of the National DNA Database that DNA samples taken for entry on to the Database are kept in a managed storage system at a temperature below -15oC in access-controlled, physically secure accommodation. Laboratories are required to undertake periodic monitoring of the samples and their compliance with the International Quality Standard ISO 17025 is independently audited at least annually by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

Graffiti

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted of offences involving graffiti in each of the past 10 years. [153612]

Ms Blears: It is not possible to distinguish offences of graffiti from other types of criminal damage in the Home Office figures for court proceedings as the circumstances of individual offences are not collected centrally.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to tackle graffiti in urban areas. [153613]

Ms Blears: A key element to the Government's drive to tackle antisocial behaviour in public places is to enforce local standards and tackle the abuse of our environment that makes public places a magnet for anti-social behaviour and crime.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduces a package of measures to prevent graffiti and to ensure that it is removed swiftly when it does occur. It also gives local authorities the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for graffiti and fly posting. This means offenders will have to pay a £50 penalty or be prosecuted through the courts.

The TOGETHER campaign places the focus on action within the heart of our communities and provides them with the opportunity to work together to tackle graffiti including a national database which will record graffiti tags, a poster campaign across transport networks which will target the most prolific graffiti 'taggers' and a pilot of 12 areas which will use new powers that enable local authorities to issue clean up notices to owners of street furniture.

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Identity Card

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if, as part of the consultation for draft legislation on National Identity Cards, he will seek views on the advisability of incorporating Braille identifiers; [153296]

(2) what research has been carried out by his Department on the possibility of incorporating Braille in a proposed National Identity Card; what estimate he has made of the likely costs; and if he will make a statement. [153297]

Beverley Hughes: The Government will welcome views on how Braille identifiers could be incorporated into the National Identity Cards scheme which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 11 November 2003. We have no plans to carry out any specific research at this stage.

The Government propose to proceed incrementally by setting up a National Identity Register and making current widely held identity documents such as passports more secure. In determining how Braille identifiers might be incorporated into such documents, the Government will need to adhere to agreed international standards governing their format.

Lancashire Police Force

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the crime clear-up rates in Lancashire police force area broken down by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area in each year since 2000. [153509]

Ms Blears: The available information is given in the tables. Figures for crimes detected by the police are not broken down by constituency or local authority areas. However, they are available at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level. BCUs broadly equate to former police divisions or districts. In Lancashire, BCUs do not correspond with local authorities. There are six BCUs, compared to 14 local authority areas.

Detection figures for recorded crime offences are available at BCU level for five key offences only; violence against the person, robbery, burglary in a dwelling, theft of a motor vehicle, and theft from a vehicle.

Detection rates for all crime, recorded by Lancashire Police

	Offences detected (percentage)
1999–2000(17)	29
2000–01(18)	27
2001–02(18)	26
2002–03(18)	27

⁽¹⁷⁾ Revised Home Office instructions, which clarified the recording of detections, were introduced on 1 April 1999. These instructions provided more precise and rigorous criteria for securing a detection, with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. As a result of the revised detections guidance (in which some previous methods of detection were no longer counted), the numbers of crimes detected, and figures derived from them, will have been affected.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Detection figures may also have been affected by the adoption of the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS), as this may have affected the number of crimes recorded. The NCRS was officially implemented across England and Wales in April 2002. Lancashire Police adopted the Standard prior to this, in August 2000.

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Basic Command Unit—Detection rates recorded for five key offences, by Lancashire Police from 1999–2000 to 2002–03

	Violence against the person detection rate:
Basic Command Unit/Police force	1999–2000 (percentage)	2000–01 (percentage)	2001–02	2002–03
Lancashire
Lancashire Central	80	75	56	56
Lancashire Eastern	80	67	61	56
Lancashire Northern	75	67	61	62
Lancashire Southern	80	75	67	72
Lancashire Western	74	67	60	55
Pennine	83	78	67	70

	Robbery detection rate:
Basic Command Unit/Police force	1999–2000 (percentage)	2000–01 (percentage)	2001–02	2002–03
Lancashire
Lancashire Central	35	25	30	29
Lancashire Eastern	23	28	30	35
Lancashire Northern	46	35	19	36
Lancashire Southern	29	45	17	33
Lancashire Western	21	14	22	27
Pennine	33	25	22	28

	Burglary dwelling detection rate:
Basic Command Unit/Police force	1999–2000 (percentage)	2000–01 (percentage)	2001–02	2002–03
Lancashire
Lancashire Central	17	18	19	17
Lancashire Eastern	21	15	22	21
Lancashire Northern	15	18	16	19
Lancashire Southern	17	16	15	20
Lancashire Western	13	19	20	16
Pennine	14	13	17	19

		Theft of a motor vehicle detection rate:
Basic Command Unit/Police force	1999–2000 (percentage)	2000–01 (percentage)	2001–02	2002–03
Lancashire
Lancashire Central	17	19	19	22
Lancashire Eastern	18	17	18	17
Lancashire Northern	15	20	19	23
Lancashire Southern	13	15	15	20
Lancashire Western	16	13	16	22
Pennine	17	13	14	20

	Theft from a motor vehicle detection rate:
Basic Command Unit/Police force	1999–2000 (percentage)	2000–01 (percentage)	2001–02	2002–03
Lancashire
Lancashire Central	8	7	7	9
Lancashire Eastern	11	5	8	8
Lancashire Northern	7	6	8	6
Lancashire Southern	9	8	9	7
Lancashire Western	8	8	4	7
Pennine	8	5	8	11

Note:

See notes for previous table

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