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2 Nov 2005 : Column 1126W—continued

Race for Justice Project

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the Race for Justice Project; and if he will make a statement. [21979]

Fiona Mactaggart: An evaluation has been commissioned locally for certain elements of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Race for Justice Project. The findings of this report will be used as a 'lessons learned' for future work and a focus for the next stage of the Race for Justice Project on communityengagement.

The evaluation report is due to be submitted to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Criminal Justice Board in November, along with the two year report of the Project overall. Both will then be published to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Race Group and Office for Criminal Justice Reform Race Unit and will be available upon request.

Reoffending

Mr. Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners released from HMP Wandsworth have reoffended within two years of release in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (a) age, (b) ethnicity and (c) faith. [20584]

Fiona Mactaggart: Reconviction rates, which are used as a proxy measure for reoffending, are only available at national level. The most recent data show that 61 per cent. of prisoners released from prison in 2001 were reconvicted of a standard list offence within two years. Information on reconviction by ethnicity and faith is not available at this time.

Further information—including a breakdown of reconviction by sex and age—are published in 'Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003'. These
 
2 Nov 2005 : Column 1127W
 
publications are available on the Home Office website (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.html) and the House of Commons Library.

Replica Guns

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of firearms seized by police were replica guns which had been converted to be able to fire live ammunition in the last period for which figures are available. [21544]

Hazel Blears: The requested information is not collected centrally.
 
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Secure Training Centres

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many random inspection visits were made to each secure training centre in each of the last five years. [16915]

Fiona Mactaggart: Secure Training Centres are inspected by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) (formerly the Social Services Inspectorate)) and Ofsted. The number of random inspections in each of the past five years is set out in the accompanying table. In addition to these, each centre receives a full (3–4 day) annual inspection by CSCI, accompanied by Ofsted.
Random inspections of secure training centres

	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001
Medway	0	0	1	0	0
Rainsbrook	0	1	0	0	0
Hassockfield	0	1	0	0	0
Oakhill	1	2	Opened August 2004

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment is made of CCTV footage taken of residents in secure training centres. [16916]

Fiona Mactaggart: CCTV footage is assessed by senior members of the Secure Training Centre operator's staff, to evaluate an event or incident either as it occurs, or following a complaint. Such footage will also be made available to the local child protection team and/or to the police in connection with the investigation of a complaint, and may be used as evidence in criminal proceedings. CCTV footage may also be used by the operator for training purposes.

In addition, the Youth Justice Board's Secure Training Centre Performance Monitor may view video footage to help establish the facts in relation to a complaint, or to a reported incident, in order to decide whether the matter should be referred to the local child protection team, if that has not already been done.

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring of residents by CCTV takes place in secure training centres. [16917]

Fiona Mactaggart: Secure Training Centre operators use CCTV monitoring on site for the purpose of maintaining the security of the premises, preventing crime and assisting with the investigation of crime if a crime is committed. The system is also designed to give confidence to trainees, staff and visitors that they are in a secure environment.

CCTV is used to record activity for security and control purposes—for example in the movement of trainees around the centre—and is monitored from a control room, by trained staff, 24 hours a day.

All individuals entering the centre are made aware, by prominent signs, that they are entering an area where CCTV recording is operating. The cameras do not invade the privacy of trainees inside their bedrooms but do record all movements into and out of each bedroom. All procedures are in line with the Data Protection Act.

There is no legislative requirement for CCTV coverage in Secure Training Centres.

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people are in secure training centres, broken down by ethnic origin. [16918]

Fiona Mactaggart: The table gives a breakdown by ethnic origin of the young people placed in secure training centres on 10 October 2005.
Breakdown of secure training centre trainees by ethnic origin as at 10 October 2005

Ethnicity	Hassockfield STC	Medway STC	Oakhill STC	Rainsbrook STC	Grand total
Asian, Bangladeshi	—	—	1	—	1
Asian, Indian	—	—	1	2	3
Asian, Pakistani	—	—	1	—	1
Asian, Other	—	2	—	2	4
Black, African	—	4	1	2	7
Black, Other	—	1	2	1	4
Black, Caribbean	—	7	—	3	10
Mixed, Other	1	1	—	—	2
Mixed, White and Asian	—	—	—	1	1
Mixed, White and Black African	—	1	1	—	2
Mixed, White and Black Caribbean	—	6	6	11	23
Not Available	4	2	1	3	10
Other Ethnic Group	—	2	—	1	3
White, British	36	44	41	44	165
White, Irish	—	—	—	2	2
White, Other	—	—	2	—	2
Grand total	41	70	57	72	240

 
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Sex Offenders

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been evaluated on (a) inmate and prison staff perceptions of sex offenders and (b) the influence of such perceptions on sex offenders' participation in and completion of sex offender treatment programmes. [21726]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Prison Service has undertaken research into the reasons why offenders choose not to participate in the Sex Offender Treatment Programme in prison. As part of this work, the perceptions of both staff and prisoners and their influence on participation in the programme were considered. The Prison Service is implementing a strategy to address the issues identified by the research, with the aim of reducing the numbers refusing treatment.

Speeding

Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for speeding which have not relied upon speed camera evidence have been brought in each of the last five years. [20939]

Fiona Mactaggart: Available information taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database are given in the table from 1999–2003 (latest available). 2004 data will be available early in 2006.
Proceedings at magistrates courts for speeding offences⁽⁴⁶⁾ not detected by camera, England and Wales, 1999–2003

	Number of offences
1999	131,310
2000	118,497
2001	104,344
2002	90,164
2003	91,285

⁽⁴⁶⁾ Offences under the Road Traffic regulation Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 & 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regs. 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926—byelaws made thereunder.
Note:
Coverage and recording practice affecting the statistics—It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.

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