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22 Feb 2005 : Column 519W—continued
Juvenile Offenders
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juvenile offenders are currently held in (a) young offenders' institutions and (b) elsewhere within the Prison Estate; and if he will make a statement. [214364]
Paul Goggins: Data on the number of young people held in Young Offender Institutions (YOI) within the juvenile estate as at 2 February 2005, is set out in the table.
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In addition to the above, two juveniles are currently held on remand in the dedicated unit for category A juveniles at HM Prison Woodhill.
Lancashire Police
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women are training to join Lancashire police. [216213]
Ms Blears: Lancashire constabulary recruits do not commence training to be a police officer until they have actually joined the constabulary. The initial training period lasts for 15 weeks, although officers remain on probation for two years, during which time they undergo additional training.
On 10 February 2005 there were a total of 456 probationers in the Lancashire constabulary; 318 male and 138 female. Of these, 25 male and 15 female officers are currently undergoing their initial training course.
A further intake of recruits is scheduled for March 2005 when it is anticipated that 16 males and 10 females will join the Constabulary.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women have joined Lancashire police in each year since 2001. [216214]
Ms Blears: The latest information on police officers joining the service was published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin number 13/04, Police Service Strength England and Wales, 31 March 2004. Prior to March 2003, the numbers of support staff and traffic wardens joining were not collected centrally and community support officers were only introduced after 31 March 2002.
The available data for Lancashire 1 are given in the following table:
(32) headcount
(33) not comparable with previous years as it includes transfers from other England and Wales forces.
Paedophiles (Grooming)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the civil and criminal provisions in the Sexual Offences Act 2004 to tackle grooming by paedophiles on the internet and other media; and if he will make a statement. [215283]
Paul Goggins
[holding answer 9 February 2005]: The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Sexual Offending, which is chaired by Baroness Scotland, has been charged with monitoring the implementation of the whole Sexual Offences Act 2003 which came into force on 1 May 2004. It is still too early to assess the use of the new grooming offence and the new risk of sexual
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harm order but the Ministerial Group will be taking stock of the situation when data about a full year's operation of the provisions is available.
Police
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to police authorities on how the integrity of evidence would be protected in the event that custody officers are civilianised; and if he will make a statement. [210980]
Ms Blears:
The integrity of evidence gathered during an investigation is the responsibility of the senior investigating officer. The role of the staff custody officer would be the same as that for a police custody officer as set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
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and accompanying codes of practice. Guidance would be issued to all relevant stakeholders in advance of the introduction of staff custody officers.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many searches of (a) persons and (b) vehicles under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 were carried out by each Metropolitan Police division (a) in each of the last five years and (b) in 2005 to date; and how many arrests were made as a result in each division for (i) offensive weapons and (ii) other reasons. [217413]
Ms Blears: Information from 1999–2000 to 2003–04 (latest available) for the Metropolitan Police area is given in the table. The information is collected centrally at police force area level only.
Data for 2004–05 will be published later in the year.
(34) Searches in anticipation of violence.
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) community safety officers were based in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997. [217191]
Ms Blears: Information on strength at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level is collected annually and reflects the position at the end of March. Information on BCU strength is only available from 2002 and is set out in the table. The deployment of officers to BCUs is a matter for the chief constable (Mr. Peter Neyroud QPM) and within the Milton Keynes (D) Division deployment of officers is a matter for the Divisional Commander.
I am told by the chief constable that until 21 February there were no community support officers in Milton Keynes. From Monday 21 February, five community support officers will be patrolling in Milton Keynes.
| As at 31 March | Number of police officers |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 343 |
| 2003 | 346 |
| 2004 | 371 |
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers there are in Morecambe and Lunesdale. [216774]
Ms Blears: I am told by the chief constable of Lancashire (Mr. Paul Stephenson QPM) that the northern (B) division currently has 25 community support officers (CSOs) and seven are deployed to the Morecambe area.
I announced on 24 November 2004 that, under the first phase of the Neighbourhood Policing Fund, the Home Office will support the recruitment of an additional 57 CSOs in Lancashire. This will enable the force to deploy a total of 185 CSOs by 31 March 2005. I understand from the Chief Constable that he plans to allocate a further eight CSOs to the northern division.
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public funding has been spent on CCTV security cameras in Morecambe and Lunesdale since 1997. [216775]
Ms Blears: The Home Office has provided a total of £83,692 to Morecambe and Lunesdale under the Closed Circuit Television initiatives, which formed part of the Crime Reduction Programme.
Since the completion of the Crime Reduction Programme, crime reduction funding has been allocated directly to the local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership through the Building Safer Communities fund and to Basic Command Unit (BCD) Commanders through the BUG fund. These funding streams finance a variety of interventions, including CCTV, to tackle local crime priorities. Exactly how funding is allocated across the area is the responsibility of the local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and Lancashire Constabulary.
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