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17 July 2006 : Column 64W—continued
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made in West Lancashire under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 since its introduction. [83656]
Mr. Coaker: The sections within the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act are being introduced gradually and as resources become available.
There have been no arrests in West Lancashire under section 5 of the Act, which came into force in March 2005 and creates an offence of causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult.
The new powers of arrest, which were created under section 10(1) of the Act were repealed in January 2006 by the introduction of section 110 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, which made all offences arrestable. As section 10(1) of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act had not been implemented, data on the number of arrests for domestic violence related incidents under these powers are not available centrally.
However, data from January 2006 to March 2006 on domestic violence arrests for all police forces, covering the extended powers of arrest, will be published this autumn and data from April 2006 to March 2007 will be published in autumn 2007.
Dorset Constabulary
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much central funding has been given to the Dorset constabulary since 1997. [84739]
Mr. McNulty: The information is set out in the following table.
Drug Classification Review
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will put the drug classification review document out for consultation; and if he will make a statement. [85418]
Mr. Coaker: Since coming into post the Home Secretary has not had the opportunity to decide how to proceed with the matter. In any event, it is sensible to take into account the conclusions drawn by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in its inquiry into “Scientific advice, risk and evidence: how Government handles them” which is using the classification of illegal drugs as one of its case studies.
Firearms
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedure is followed to dispose of firearms seized by police officers in the course of their duties. [85312]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 14 July 2006]: There are no central guidelines on the disposal of firearms except where firearms seized in respect of criminal offences. In such cases an order for their disposal are normally sought from the trial judge or magistrate. In these circumstances, the forfeiture and/or destruction order (as applicable) is actioned locally, at force level.
Disposal is also undertaken locally in cases where firearms are seized by the police from licensed firearms holders as a result of a breach of licence conditions or where the person is no longer considered to be fit and proper to hold the weapon; or where members of the public surrender firearms voluntarily to the police.
The only exception is where firearms are considered to have historical significance or instructional value for training. In such cases the weapons may be retained in liaison with a museum or the Royal Armouries or by the police in secure conditions as instructional aids.
Fox Hunting Ban (Scotland)
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the use of English police constabularies to enforce the fox hunting ban in Scotland. [81976]
Mr. McNulty: This is an operational matter for chief officers.
Gun Crime
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many shooting incidents there have been in (a) Southend-on-Sea, (b) Essex, (c) Hertfordshire, (d) the Metropolitan police area of London, (e) City of London police area and (f) England and Wales in each year since 1986 in which (i) legally held and (ii) illegally held weapons were used against the police. [82556]
Mr. McNulty: The requested data is not in a form suitable for publication.
Handling Centres
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the development of police investigation and detainee handling centres. [57759]
Mr. McNulty: The Policing Bureaucracy Taskforce recommended in its report published in July 2002 that greater use should be made of prisoner processing units (PPUs) to handle and interview suspects and to complete initial case preparation with a view to freeing up patrol officer time.
The use of PPUs, also referred to as Investigation and Detainee Handling Centres (IDHCs) helps provide an appropriate level of expertise in dealing with volume crime arrests and to enable designated police staff to be employed flexibly within such units. The performance drive and focus is in line with Office for Criminal Justice Reform’s objective to bring more offences to justice through a more modern and efficient justice process by supporting all criminal justice agencies in working together to provide an improved service for the public.
The provision of detention facilities within each force area is an operational matter for the chief officer of the force concerned. Information is not held centrally on the number of units or centres. objective to bring more offences to justice through a more modern and efficient justice process by supporting all criminal justice agencies in working together to provide an improved service for the public. The provision of detention facilities within each force area is an operational matter for the chief officer of the force concerned. Information is not held centrally on the number of units or centres.
Haringey Coroner Services
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which pathologists in Haringey Coroner Services (a) are and (b) are not accredited by his Department; and how many of these pathologists are over the normal retirement age. [61875]
Joan Ryan: The Home Office does not hold information on (a) the pathologists instructed by specific coroners, (b) the coroners instructing forensic pathologists on the Home Office Register or (c) the age of the pathologists on the Home Office Register. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested.
Knives
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of reported knife crimes in Wales resulted in a conviction in each year since 1996. [79629]
Mr. Coaker: Although the homicide figures record where a knife or other sharp instrument has been used, other crimes specifically involving the use of a knife cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime statistics or the court proceedings data.
Mohammed Siddique Khan
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an electronic tracking device was fitted to Mohammed Siddique Khan's car at any time prior to 7 July 2005. [81893]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 3 July 2006]: It is the Government's policy not to comment on speculation about specific intelligence.
Murders
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the murders committed in England and Wales over each of the last 10 years were committed within the extended family; and what estimate he has made of the numbers of murders in which alcohol was a contributory factor. [83785]
Mr. McNulty: The information available centrally relates to homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales for each year between 1995 and 2004-05 where there was a family relationship between victim and suspect. Figures are also provided for this period where the suspect was known to be intoxicated at the time of the offence, but as they are based on information notified to the Home Office, rather than the actual case files held by the police or the court records, it may understate the true position. Figures are contained in the table.
| Offences currently recorded( 1) as homicide by the police in England and Wales, 1995 to 2004-05 | ||
| Extended family relationship( 2) | Alcohol related( 3) | |
| (1) As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) From the information notified to the Home Office, the relationship between victim and suspect is known to be within the following categories: Son, daughter (including adopted) Stepson, stepdaughter (including child of suspect's cohabitant/lover Spouse Ex-spouse, estranged spouse Cohabitant, common law spouse Ex-cohabitant, ex-common law spouse Lover, mistress Ex-lover, ex-mistress Lover's spouse, spouse's lover, cohabitant's spouse or lover, lover's lover Homosexual/ex-homosexual relationship—long-term Homosexual relationship—casual Other family (including foster children). (3) From the information notified to the Home Office, the suspect is known to have been intoxicated at the time of the offence, or on drink and drugs. The drink and drugs related cases may include those where drink was not the primary factor. The figures are affected by recording changes, most notably in 2001-02 when some forces introduced a new notification system. | ||
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders were committed in each London borough in each of the last five years. [82897]
Mr. McNulty: Available figures relate to the number of homicides recorded by the Metropolitan police in each London borough from 2000-01 to 2004-05 and are contained in the following table.
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