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27 Feb 2006 : Column 96W—continued

Pensioners

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of old age pensioners reported that they (a) were victims of crime and (b) were worried about crime in 2004–05. [52528]

Hazel Blears: The 2004–05 British Crime Survey (BCS) found that older people were less likely to be victims of crime than the England and Wales average and than younger people (see Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1 shows that 1.6 per cent. of households where the household reference person was aged 75 and over were victims of one or more burglaries in 2004–05, compared with 2.7 per cent. of all households and 7.1 per cent. of households where the household reference person was aged 16 to 24.

In 2004–05, 2.6 per cent. of households where the household reference person was aged 75 and over were victims of one or more vehicle thefts, compared with 8.2 per cent. of all vehicle owning households and 12.1 per cent. of households where the household reference person was aged 16 to 24.

Table 2 shows that 0.2 per cent. of men and 0.5 per cent. of women aged 75 and over were victims of one or more incidents of violence in 2004–05. This compares with 3.6 per cent. of all adults, 14.6 per cent. of men aged 16 to 24 and 6.3 per cent. of women aged 16 to 24.

The latest statistics published on worry about crime by age are from the 2002–03 BCS (Table 3). These show that older people are generally less likely to be worried about crime than younger people, particularly car crime and violent crime. Six per cent. of men aged 75 and over had high levels of worry about being a victim of violence, compared with 16 per cent. of men aged 16 to 24, while 19 per cent. of women aged 75 and over had high levels of worry about being a victim of violence, compared with 37 per cent. of women aged 16 to 24.
 
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There are no published BCS figures where a distinction is made between older people who are retired and those who are still in work.
Table 1: Percentage of households victims of burglary and vehicle thefts by age of household reference person, 2004–05 BCS Percentage victims once or more

Age of household reference person	All burglary	All vehicle theft
16–24	7.1	12.1
25–44	3.6	10.7
45–64	2.1	8.0
65–74	1.5	3.3
75+	1.6	2.6
All households	2.7	8.2

Note:
Figures for vehicle thefts based on households owning or with regular use of a vehicle.




Table 2: Percentage of adult victims of violence by age, 2004–05 BCS Percentage victims once or more

	All violence
Men	4.7
16–24	14.6
25–44	5.0
45–64	2.1
65–74	0.4
75+	0.2
Women	2.6
16–24	6.3
25–44	3.2
45–64	1.7
65–74	0.5
75+	0.5
All adults	3.6

Table 3: Worry about crime by age, 2002–03 BCS Percentage with high level of worry

	Burglary	Car crime	Violence
Men	12	16	10
16–24	11	24	16
25–44	12	16	10
45–64	13	16	10
65–74	11	12	7
75 or older	9	8	6
Women	17	17	29
16–24	18	25	37
25–44	17	17	31
45–64	18	17	28
65–74	18	15	24
75 or older	14	9	19
All adults	15	17	21

Police

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been held in police cells under lock-out arrangements in each region of England and Wales in the last 12 weeks; what the total cost of lock-outs was over this period; and what the average daily cost was. [37760]

Fiona Mactaggart: The total number of lock-outs in each prisoner escort contract area for the period between 22 September 2005 and 14 December 2005, is given in the following table.
 
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The average cost per prisoner per night locked out is estimated as £120. The total cost for lock-outs over this period has been estimated as £74,400. The average daily cost was therefore £886.

This was an unusually high number of lock-outs during this period. In the following six weeks, there were 18 lock-outs.

	Number
South Wales and West	168
London and South East	380
East	72
North	0
Total	620

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when responsibility for the new Wales police force will be devolved to the National Assembly for Wales. [50942]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 13 February 2006]: We have no plans to transfer responsibility for policing to the National Assembly for Wales. We will continue to consult the National Assembly on the national policing priorities for England and Wales in the context of the annual National Community Safety plan.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) community support officers there are per 100,000 people in each police force in England and Wales. [51227]

Hazel Blears: The information requested for police officers is available from the 'Police Service Strength publication as at 31 March 2005'. This report was published on 25 July 2005 and is available in the Library of the House and on:www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1205.pdf

The information requested for police community support officers is given in the following table.
The number of police community support officers (PSCOs) per 100,000 population as at 31 March 2005.

English and Welsh Government office regions	Strength(34)	Number of PCSOs per 100,000 population(35)
Avon and Somerset	139	9
Bedfordshire	40	7
Cambridgeshire	86	12
Cheshire	52	5
Cleveland	75	14
Cumbria	17	3
Derbyshire	43	4
Devon and Cornwall	74	5
Dorset	47	7
Durham	69	12
Essex	179	11
Gloucestershire	72	13
Greater Manchester	269	11
Hampshire	26	1
Hertfordshire	98	9
Humberside	20	2
Kent	105	7
Lancashire	161	11
Leicestershire	103	11
Lincolnshire	75	11
London, City of(36)	—	—
Merseyside	170	12
Metropolitan Police(36)	2,161	29
Norfolk	68	8
Northamptonshire	37	6
Northumbria	126	9
North Yorkshire	75	10
Nottinghamshire	108	10
South Yorkshire	124	10
Staffordshire	63	6
Suffolk	34	5
Surrey	115	11
Sussex	228	15
Thames Valley	98	5
Warwickshire	56	11
West Mercia	81	7
West Midlands	219	8
West Yorkshire	394	19
Wiltshire	41	7
Dyfed Powys	25	5
Gwent	77	14
North Wales	59	9
South Wales	107	9
Total of 43 forces	6,214	12

⁽³⁴⁾ Strength figures are based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number, because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.
⁽³⁵⁾ Population figures are based on the mid-2003 population figures. PCSOs per 100,000 population are combined for City of London and Metropolitan Police.
⁽³⁶⁾ PCSO strength is combined for City of London and Metropolitan Police.



 
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Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the injuries that have resulted to (a) police officers, (b) suspects and (c) uninvolved members of the public since 1997 as a result of (i) police batons and (ii) police use of pepper spray and other gases; and if he will make a statement. [52342]

Hazel Blears: This information is not collected centrally and can be retrieved only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times (a) pepper sprays and (b) batons have been (i) drawn and (ii) used by police officers since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [52368]

Hazel Blears: This information is not collected centrally and could be retrieved only at disproportionate cost.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) community support officers have been employed in Bexhill-on-sea in each year since 1997. [33125]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 30 November 2005]: This information is not available. Police numbers at basic command unit (BCU) level have been collected only since March 2002 and for community support officers since June 2005. Bexhill-on-sea is a part of the Hastings and Rother (Senlac) area basic command unit. Data on police and CSO numbers for this BCU, for the period March 2002 to June 2005, is set out in the table.
 
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Hastings and Rother (Senlac) BCU—police officer and CSO strength, 2002 to 2005 Number

As at 31 March:	Officers	Community support officers
2002(37)	254.8	n/a
2003(38)	291	n/a
2004(38)	294	n/a
2005(38)	302.36	(39)36

n/a=Not available.
⁽³⁷⁾ Data collected by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
⁽³⁸⁾ Data collected by Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.
⁽³⁹⁾ As at 30 June 2005.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women police constables there are in England and Wales. [52072]

Hazel Blears: The information requested is available in the 'Police Service Strength publication as at 31 March 2005'. This report was published on 25 July 2005 and is available in the Library of the House and on: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1205.pdf

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