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Public Order

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) alcohol-related crime there have been in (i) the Wiltshire constabulary area and (ii) Swindon in each of the last seven years. [54566]

Hazel Blears: The data are not available in the form requested. Antisocial behaviour is not measured by incidents but through a measure of perceptions using the British Crime Survey (BCS). The size of the sample in the British Crime Survey means that we cannot provide reliable data for geographical areas smaller than police force areas. Due to changes in the measure of antisocial behaviour used police force area data that is comparable to the national figures are only available for 2004–05.

The following table sets out the national figures for the last four years and the comparable figure for Wiltshire constabulary. Table 1: Percentage of people perceiving high levels of antisocial behaviour in their local area in relation to alcohol related crime, it is not possible to identify those offences which are alcohol-related. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in the data series.
Table 1: Percentage of people perceiving high levels of antisocial behaviour in their local area

Percentage
	National	Wiltshire constabulary	Statistically significantly different (at the 95 per cent. level) from the national average
2001–02	19	—	—
2002–03	21	—	—
2003–04	16	—	—
2004–05	17	14	No

Note:
The measure of antisocial behaviour used is based on a scale constructed from seven questions on problems due to noisy neighbours or loud parties, teenagers and young people hanging around, rubbish and litter, vandalism, people using or dealing drugs, people being drunk or rowdy and abandoned cars (see background notes for more details).

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in Swindon for (a) public order offences and harassment and (b) selling alcohol to minors between 12 November and 24 December (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005. [54658]

Hazel Blears: It is not possible to identify the number of penalty notices for disorder issued in Swindon because centrally available data are for police force areas as a whole and are not broken down to that level of detail. The Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND)
 
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scheme was brought into effect in England and Wales during 2003–04 to provide the police with a quick and effective means of dealing with minor offences.

Under the scheme an offender is issued with a fixed penalty notice and has 21 days in which to pay the penalty or request a court hearing. The offences of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 and consumption of alcohol by a person under 18 were added to the scheme with effect from 1 November 2004.

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effectiveness of (i) antisocial behaviour orders and (ii) fixed penalty notices. [54925]

Hazel Blears: I would like to refer the hon. gentleman to the answer I gave on 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 926W regarding antisocial behaviour orders. The Home Office has responsibility for the penalty notices for disorder scheme which enables the police to issue fixed penalty notices for specified penalty offences. The scheme was piloted in four police force areas between August 2002 and September 2003. The Home Office commissioned an interim evaluation and a final evaluation of the scheme. The findings of these evaluations were published as Home Office research findings, numbers 232 and 257, in 2004

Rape Prosecutions

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of contested prosecutions for rape in the Lancashire police force area have resulted in a conviction in each of the last five years. [51875]

Fiona Mactaggart: Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants pleading not guilty of rape and the number and percentage of these found guilty of rape at the Crown Court in Lancashire police force area, is provided in the following table. Figures are presented for the years 2000–04. Court statistics for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.
Number of defendants pleading not-guilty of rape and the number and percentage of these found guilty of rape at the Crown Court, Lancashire police force area, 2000–04⁽³⁴⁾

	Not guilty pleas	Found guilty	Conviction rate (percentage)
2000	25	9	36
2001	37	14	38
2002	25	7	28
2003	39	13	33
2004	32	8	25

⁽³⁴⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.
Note:
Rape includes rape of a female and male.

Recovered Property (Charges)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last reviewed the statutory fees payable by the victim for the recovery from police of their property. [54775]

Hazel Blears: The police have powers to order the removal of any vehicle that is dangerously, obstructively or illegally parked, broken down or abandoned,
 
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including vehicles abandoned after being stolen. The Government regard such removals as important for road safety and crime reduction and does not consider it appropriate for the cost to fall on the public purse.

Therefore, before owners can reclaim any vehicle so removed they are required by law to pay fees prescribed by the Secretary of State to meet the costs of removal and storage. These fees were last changed in 1993. The Government recognise the burden these necessary fees place on the owners of stolen vehicles and have investigated ways in which it be alleviated.

As a result, the Association of Chief Police Officers has agreed best practice in the handling of stolen vehicles. This focuses on ensuring recovered vehicles are kept no longer than necessary, that the police action is fully explained in advance and that advice is provided to help owners protect their property. The Home Office, with other interested parties, is now beginning a wide-ranging review of the fees.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was charged in total to victims of theft from vehicles for recovery of their property by each police authority in 2004–05. [54776]

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims of vehicle theft refused to pay the fee for release of their property from the police in 2004–05 in each police authority area; and if he will make a statement. [54777]

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Sex Offenders

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken to achieve parole was by those who (a) participated and (b) did not participate in the Sex Offender Treatment Programme in the last period for which figures are available. [53915]

Fiona Mactaggart: The information is not available centrally recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Stolen Vehicles

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long recovered stolen vehicles are kept by each police authority before disposal where (a) the victims of the theft refuse to pay the recovery fee and (b) the original owner cannot be found. [54778]

Hazel Blears: If the police use their powers to recover a stolen vehicle, the owner has seven working days from being notified of its recovery to pay the prescribed fees for removal and storage. If he does not do so, the police will then normally authorise the vehicle's disposal. In cases where after taking reasonable steps the police have not been able to notify the owner of the recovery of his stolen vehicle, they will normally authorise its disposal on a date not less than 14 working days after the date of its recovery.
 
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Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how each police authority disposes of recovered stolen vehicles (a) which remain unclaimed and (b) where the owner is unable to pay a fee to recover their property. [54779]

Hazel Blears: If for any reason a recovered stolen vehicle is not claimed within the prescribed period, the police will authorise its disposal by the recovery operator working on their behalf. Disposal can be by any means, including sale or disposal as scrap. Any profit from the sale is payable to the owner if claimed within a year. A full audit trail for each vehicle recovered is maintained.

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