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19 Jun 2006 : Column 1660W—continued
Home Department
Mini-motorbikes
12. Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour involving motor vehicles, with particular reference to mini-motorbikes. [77882]
13. Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to tackle illegal and antisocial behaviour involving unlicensed mini-motorbikes and motorbikes. [77883]
Mr. McNulty: The Government are aware of the problems associated with motorbike misuse, in particular miniature motorbikes. There is now a range of tools and powers in place to deal effectively with this problem and we are actively encouraging their use.
These specific powers enable immediate action to be taken against antisocial riders, ensuring that communities do not have to suffer prolonged misery caused by the antisocial use of mini-motorbikes.
The Home Office is producing a guidance document to help practitioners.
Violent Crime
14. Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of conviction rates in cases involving violent crime. [77884]
Mr. Sutcliffe: In 2004, 55 per cent. of those violent offences proceeded against resulted in a conviction. There were 93,735 violent offences that were proceeded against in 2004, of which 51,415 resulted in a defendant being found guilty.
Occasional Sales
15. Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Kent County Council Act 2001 and Medway Council Act 2001 on occasional sales. [77885]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Report on the Kent Acts concluded that advance notice of occasional sales was helpful in planning operational activity. We will be seeking further evidence from police forces, local authorities and others when we consult on whether the regulatory aspects of the Kent Acts have wider application.
Safer Neighbourhood Teams
16. Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress with introducing safer neighbourhood teams. [77886]
Mr. McNulty: By April 2007, neighbourhood policing will have been introduced to every community in England and Wales, delivering increased patrolling and visibility, and ensuring that local officers are more accessible to local people. Every community will have its own dedicated neighbourhood policing team by April 2008.
Police
17. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet representatives of the Essex Police Authority to discuss the future of the police service in Essex. [77887]
Mr. McNulty:
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, has made it clear that he believes the establishment of strategic police forces through the merger of existing police areas is the basis for a reformed, fully effective
police service in the future and in particular is the necessary step to enhance the stability of local neighbourhood policing. To that end, I recently met Lord Hannington, Chair of Essex county council to discuss the issues for the Essex area. I can assure you that there is no question of any intent to ride roughshod over concerns raised and I welcome a meeting with representatives from Essex Police Authority.
18. Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the merger of local police forces. [77888]
Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, has made it clear that he believes the establishment of strategic police forces through the merger of existing police areas is the basis for a reformed, fully effective police service in the future and in particular is the necessary step to enhance the stability of local neighbourhood policing. To that end, my right hon. Friend recently met the Chair of the Cleveland Police Authority to discuss the issues for the Cleveland area.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made by police officers in each year since 1997; and what the average number of arrests per police officer was in each year. [74589]
Mr. McNulty: Information on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) can be found in Table AA of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Arrests for Recorded Crime (Notifiable Offences) and the Operation of Certain Police Powers under PACE, England and Wales" which is available on the Research and Development Statistics website www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pubs stastistical. Copies are also available in the Library.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police recruits have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed during their period of training in each police force in each of the past five years; and what percentage this represents of the total number of recruits in each year. [77428]
Mr. McNulty: The requested information is not collected centrally.
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for judicial review of his decisions on the amalgamation of police forces have been made; and if he will make a statement. [77894]
Mr. McNulty: West Mercia and Cleveland police authorities have made applications for judicial review on the Home Secretary's announced intentions. An application has also been received from West Midlands councils. We are of course disappointed with the authorities' and councils' decision to go down the path of judicial review. We encourage them to use the opportunity for continued dialogue that has just been announced. Beyond that, it would not be appropriate to comment further on a matter that is before the courts.
Foreign Criminals
19. Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign criminals are detained in immigration detention centres; and if he will make a statement. [77889]
Mr. Sutcliffe: As of 10 June 2006 there were 450 detainees accommodated within immigration removal centres who are recorded as having previously served a term of imprisonment.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners originally released without consideration for deportation were subsequently deported in the last five years. [77893]
Mr. Byrne: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and his predecessor have provided regular statistical updates to the House on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. In particular I refer the hon. Gentleman to the most recent written ministerial statements of 15 and 23 May 2006. We will continue to update the House on the 1,019 cases as we work through them and urgently recheck the information we hold to ensure that any further information we provide to the House is as accurate as possible. We aim to provide a further update by the end of June.
Neighbourhood Policing Schemes
20. Mr. Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing schemes. [77890]
Mr. McNulty: Earlier this year we published research evidence that showed that neighbourhood policing can deliver significant improvements in crime reduction, perceptions of crime and antisocial behaviour, feelings of safety and public confidence in the police. (The National Reassurance Policing Programme—Home Office research findings number 272.)
In the trial, the reduction in the number of victims of crime was twice as high, and public confidence in the police increased five times as much in the wards with neighbourhood policing activity compared with similar wards without.
Police Cells
21. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the availability of police cells of the appropriate standard to detain suspects prior to court appearance. [77891]
Mr. McNulty: Section 35 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires that the chief officer for each police area shall designate the police stations in his or her area which shall be used for the purposes of detaining arrested persons. It is the duty of the chief officer to designate police stations appearing to him or her to provide enough accommodation for that purpose.
Offending Rates
22. Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce offending; and if he will make a statement. [77892]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government have taken positive action to reduce offending. Our strategy includes tackling drug misuse, focusing on prolific and other priority offenders and reducing re-offending. Our vision for reducing re-offending is set out in the five-year strategy for protecting the public and reducing re-offending published in February.
Adult Learners Week
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of his Department attended events during the 2006 Adult Learners Week. [75394]
Mr. Byrne: 1,368 Home Office employees attended events during the 2006 Adult Learners Week. This comprised 333 staff from the core non agency, non IND Home Office and 1,035 from IND.
Antisocial Behaviour
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he plans to take to ensure that local authorities monitor and act on public concerns over antisocial behaviour; [77142]
(2) if he will take steps to make local authorities more accountable to communities when responding to persistent antisocial behaviour and community safety problems. [77144]
Mr. McNulty: A key element of the Government’s respect programme is to ensure that all communities see and expect a robust response to antisocial behaviour. We have introduced the necessary tools and powers and expect local authorities to use them where appropriate. This Government have introduced a mandatory antisocial behaviour and respect outcome to all local area agreements (LAAs) to ensure that local authorities monitor and act on public concerns over antisocial behaviour. From April 2007 all areas will be covered by such an agreement. The respect programme is also about empowering the public to hold their leaders to account and have their say about the issues that matter most to them. We will ensure that senior representatives of all crime and disorder reduction partnerships hold regular ‘face the people’ sessions to promote greater accountability and visibility in local services. The Government are committed to introducing a ‘community call for action’, a power that will give local communities a formal way to request and ensure that action is taken by the police, local authorities and others in response to persistent antisocial behaviour or community safety problems, where action is not already being taken.
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many antisocial behaviour orders were applied for by (a) each local authority, (b) the police, (c) social landlords and (d) housing action trusts in Dudley since 1 April 1999; [77146]
(2) how many (a) criminal antisocial behaviour orders and (b) antisocial behaviour orders have been secured by courts in (i) Dudley and (ii) the West Midlands since the introduction of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. [77330]
Mr. McNulty: From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) data were collected by aggregate numbers only by police force area. Since 1 June 2000, from copies of the orders received, we are able to determine the type of applicant for ASBOs issued on application. The number of ASBOs issued on application, as reported to the Home Office by the Courts Service, from 1 June 2000 to 30 September 2005 (latest available), wherein restrictions are imposed in the local government authority area of Dudley metropolitan borough council (MBC) is 15. All were applied for by Dudley MBC.
The Police Reform Act 2002 gave authority to the courts, from 1 December 2002, to issue ASBOs, in addition to the sentence, following conviction of a criminal offence. The available information is given in the table.
| Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, by area and type, from 1 December 2002( 1) to 30 September 2005 (latest available) | |||
| Number | |||
| On application | On conviction | Total | |
| (1 )Prior to this date ASBOs could be issued at the magistrates court on application only. The Police Reform Act (2002) gave authority to the Crown court and the magistrates court to issue an ASBO following conviction for a criminal offence. For comparison purposes all data given in this table are for the period 1 December 2002 to 30 September 2005. | |||
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to publicise action taken to tackle antisocial behaviour to members of the public in Dudley. [77329]
Mr. McNulty: The respect programme places the emphasis on local agencies to use the tools and powers they have been given to tackle antisocial behaviour and its causes. The Government are determined that people should be confident that their local agencies will respond appropriately to antisocial behaviour. The roll-out Neighbourhood Policing teams and the increase in the number of Police Community Support Officers mean that there are more resources than ever before on the streets to make this happen. This, coupled with new and existing powers, will mean that there is no excuse for inaction.
Through the Respect Academy programme, we are also outlining clearly how important communications, accountability and visibility are for public services in tackling antisocial behaviour. Getting the public to make demands on local agencies for action on
antisocial behaviour and disrespect is an important part of sustaining these changes. It is essential that the public feel empowered to play their part in tackling antisocial behaviour through greater awareness of the powers available to them and their local agencies. We want to encourage people to come forward, complain and take a stand. The Respect "Taking A Stand" awards and action days held nationwide will continue to stimulate public debate about acceptable behaviour and inform antisocial behaviour practitioners about local activities. We will also ensure that public services can be held to account and deliver on local priorities by introducing regular and systematic "face the people" briefing sessions, involving senior representation from the police and local authorities. Dudley metropolitan borough council (MBC) has taken a number of steps to ensure that action to tackle antisocial behaviour is well publicised throughout the borough. Dudley Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) publishes and distributes two quarterly newsletters, "Dudley Together" and "Home Affairs" to all households and tenants. The local press also publicises details of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) and dispersal notices and most Dudley MBC Neighbourhood Managers hold local community safety forums to inform the community about initiatives and on-going action to reduce antisocial behaviour.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people who have been made subject to an antisocial behaviour order were in receipt of housing benefit when the order was imposed. [77709]
Mr. McNulty: Information collected centrally for statistical purposes does not identify if an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) recipient is in receipt of housing benefit.
Asylum/Immigration
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) suicides and (b) incidents of self-harm there have been in each immigration holding, reception and removal centre in each of the past five years. [75368]
Mr. Byrne: I am advised that there have been two deaths in the immigration removal estate in the last five years where the Coroner has recorded a verdict of suicide, at Haslar on 31 January 2003 and at Dungavel on 23 July 2004. We await the Coroner's verdict in a further five cases of apparently self-inflicted death. Details of these are:19 July 2004 at Harmondsworth, 7 November 2004 at Colnbrook, 27 June 2005 at Campsfield House, 15 September 2005 at Yarl's Wood, 19 January 2006 at Harmondsworth. Figures for self-harm incidents for 2004-05, 2005-06 and for April 2006 are reproduced as follows. No figures for are available for periods before this.
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