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5 Jul 2005 : Column 385W—continued
Gun and Drug Crime
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the link between gun and drug crime. [3702]
Hazel Blears: The Home Office sponsored New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) survey, which involved interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, included questions on carrying guns. A paper based on the data has been published by T H Bennett and K Holloway, Possession and use of illegal guns among criminals in England and Wales" (Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol 43, No three, pp 237–252). The Home Office has also conducted an arrestee survey which may highlight this issue. The results of this survey will be published later this year. There have also been discussions in the context of the Home Secretary's round table on gun crime, which has looked at possible links and appropriate interventions. This research is used to inform policy and legislative proposals. The Violent Crime Reduction Bill includes a number of measures designed to further tighten the firearms legislation, including a ban on the manufacture, import or sale of realistic imitation firearms, an increase from a maximum of six to 12 months sentence for carrying an imitation firearm in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, and an increase in the minimum age for possession of an air weapon to 18. The Bill also includes a new offence of using another person to look after, hide or transport a dangerous weapon. These measures complement existing legislation and demonstrate our determination to tackle gun crime.
Happy Slapping
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of the practice known as 'happy slapping' were reported to the police in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [6357]
Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally. An offence captured by the practice known as 'happy slapping' would be recorded according to how it is defined in law i.e. common assault, actual bodily harm etc.
Illegal Immigration
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants found within UK borders since 1997 have been convicted under the terrorism laws. [8532]
Mr. McNulty:
The information requested is not available. It would be disproportionate to require the police and courts to obtain, verify and record this information in all cases. Information on nationality and immigration status can be a key part of the investigation
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of terrorist offences and the police and immigration service work closely together in these cases. The available evidence suggests that only a small number of foreign nationals, asylum seekers or refugees commit serious crimes. Statistics on the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism legislation from 1979 to 2001 are available on the Research and Statistics section of the Home Office website. Statistics since 11 September 2001, under the Terrorism Act 2000 are also available. These can be found in the terrorism section of the Home Office website.
Indefinite Leave to Remain
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects all families who have applied for indefinite leave to remain under the one-off exercise to allow families who have been in theUK for at least three years to stay to be informed of the decision. [7469]
Mr. McNulty: It is not possible to provide a precise time scale of when all those currently being considered under the exercise will have had a decision made on their case. The time it takes to reach a decision depends both on individual circumstances and on the number of cases in the consideration process. Sometimes people do not complete the Family ILR Exercise Questionnaire properly, or fail to provide the documentation requested. The checks we conduct on potentially eligible applicants can also take some time to complete, depending on individual circumstances. We also encounter a number of complex cases that can take some time to resolve. The main factor, though, which makes providing a meaningful completion date for the exercise difficult, is the substantial number of cases we still have to consider. In addition, cases we had not previously identified for consideration under the exercise continue to come to light which we are also required to respond to. We are hoping to have completed consideration of the majority of cases by the end of April 2006. Key statistics relating to the Family ILR Exercise were published as part of the quarterly asylum statistics on 17 May. These show the current status of the exercise up to and including 31 March 2005 and are available to the public on the Home Office (HO) Research Development and Statistics (RDS) website. The full web address is:www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. These statistics will be updated in August to cover the second quarter of 2005.
Knives in School
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of school age children bringing knives or other offensive weapons into schools were (a) reported to the police and (b) resulted in prosecution or caution in each year between 1997 and 2005. [4260]
Hazel Blears:
The Home Office collects recorded crime data on offences of possession of offensive weapons. Within that offence classification, there are two offences relating to possession of a blade or other offensive weapon on school premises. However, these
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offences cannot be separately identified from other possession of weapons offences. The Court Proceedings Database holds details of number of defendants
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proceeded against and cautioned and these figures are given in the table. Figures for 2004 and 2005 are not yet available.
(42)These data are on the principal offence basis.
(43)Staffordshire police were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts in 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.
(44)Data excluded for West Mercia PFA, until clarification of these cases is obtained.
Licensing Act
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in each (a) petty sessional division area and (b) police authority area have been (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted under (A) section 172, (B) section 172A and (C) section 173 of the Licensing Act 1964 in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [3248]
Hazel Blears: Statistics from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database on the number of people prosecuted and convicted under sections 172, 172A and 173 of the Licensing Act 1964, England and Wales, 1997–2003 are contained in the tables, broken down by police force area and petty sessional area. Statistics for 2004 will be available in the autumn. From 4 April 2005 the offence under section 172(3) of the Licensing Act 1964 (selling alcohol to a drunken person) became one for which penalty notices for disorder (PND) are available. Provisional data reported to the Home Office in April, latest available, shows that four PNDs were issued for this offence.
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(45)These data are on a principal offence basis
Source:
RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform
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