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8 Mar 2007 : Column 2185W—continued

Firearms: Crime

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidences of gun-related crime there were in each police district command unit area in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years. [125066]

8 Mar 2007 : Column 2186W

Paul Goggins: The chief constable has provided the following table of offences recorded by the police in Northern Ireland over the last three years in which a firearm was involved. The term ‘firearm’ includes handguns, shotguns, rifles, imitation firearms, BB guns and air guns.

	2004	2005	2006
Antrim	31	23	23
Ards	62	63	30
Armagh	16	18	18
Ballymena	20	16	10
Ballymoney	3	2	3
Banbridge	10	12	4
East Belfast	52	70	26
North Belfast	119	150	96
South Belfast	81	51	36
West Belfast	86	82	56
Carrickfergus	32	15	18
Castlereagh	48	25	25
Coleraine	31	30	16
Cookstown	7	5	10
Craigavon	68	78	40
Down	34	42	14
Dungannon and South Tyrone	11	20	8
Fermanagh	9	22	15
Foyle	40	40	40
Larne	19	15	6
Limavady	16	15	19
Lisburn	35	42	20
Magherafelt	6	5	5
Moyle	6	3	2
Newry and Mourne	40	41	34
Newtownabbey	67	64	40
North Down	41	53	29
Omagh	19	17	4
Strabane	23	19	19
Northern Ireland	1,032	1,038	666
Note: The figures for 2006 are provisional and liable to revision.

Northern Ireland Policing Board: Tribunals

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on fees paid to (a) the Crown Solicitor and (b) counsel for the Northern Ireland Policing Board in defending two applications to the Fair Employment Tribunal by Mr. Chris Ryder; and what estimate has been made of the additional costs likely to be incurred in referring this matter to the Court of Appeal. [125543]

Paul Goggins: I have been informed by the Northern Ireland Policing Board that to date the Crown Solicitor’s Office have not billed the Policing Board for any work undertaken in respect of these cases.

I have also been informed that the estimated cost of an appeal to the Court of Appeal is approximately £8,500. This includes Crown Solicitor’s costs and that of counsel.

8 Mar 2007 : Column 2187W

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the occasions on which he has met the Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable in each of the past three years. [123509]

Paul Goggins: Since his appointment on 6 May 2005, the Secretary of State has met the chief constable on 29 occasions as follows:

	2005	2006	2007
January	—	1	1
February	—	2	1
March	—	1	—
April	—	1	—
May	2	2	—
June	1	2	—
July	2	0	—
August	1	1	—
September	2	1	—
October	1	1	—
November	2	0	—
December	2	2	—

Prisoners: Escapes

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons were (a) arrested on suspicion of, (b) charged with, (c) prosecuted for and (d) convicted of escaping from lawful custody in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [124916]

Paul Goggins: The PSNI have advised that information is not collated in the precise format requested. Information relating to parts (a) and (b) cannot be broken down and is therefore provided as an amalgamated figure in the following table.

	Arrests/charges	Prosecutions	Convictions
2002	26	24	15
2003	18	17	10
2004	12	11	3
2005	26	20	9
2006	49	5	2
2007	9	—	—

Sexual Offences

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many sexual assaults were recorded in each police district command unit area in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what training and support was provided to police officers in Northern Ireland in dealing with such cases. [125039]

Paul Goggins: 'Sexual assault' is not a specific offence and therefore data under this heading is not recorded by PSNI. The following table details statistics relating to the number of all Recorded Sexual Offences by District Command Unit during the last five years.

8 Mar 2007 : Column 2188W

Sexual Offences( 1) recorded by District Command Unit for 2002 to 2006
District Command Unit	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006( 2)
East Belfast	54	55	106	95	74
North Belfast	69	112	151	94	106
South Belfast	112	149	165	138	157
West Belfast	58	45	75	48	59
Castlereagh	34	38	32	45	36
North Down	55	56	48	74	68
Ards	59	98	55	73	52
Carrickfergus	18	17	30	21	29
Lisburn	94	119	125	113	124
Newtownabbey	33	43	110	68	79
Antrim	31	32	32	39	66
Larne	32	33	34	21	28
Down	42	62	48	60	48
Armagh	16	30	29	43	40
Banbridge	31	40	40	29	31
Newry and Mourne	44	80	56	56	66
Cookstown	27	30	20	22	22
Dungannon and South Tyrone	34	33	39	31	41
Fermanagh	33	42	43	34	57
Omagh	47	47	41	52	58
Foyle	169	165	154	159	195
Limavady	33	34	31	38	38
Magherafelt	17	22	28	32	43
Strabane	32	37	41	36	41
Ballymena	54	75	61	75	68
Ballymoney	26	20	7	20	21
Coleraine	52	103	74	86	79
Moyle	11	12	15	19	16
Craigavon	62	77	57	78	82
Total	1,379	1,706	1,747	1,699	1,824
(1) Sexual offence statistics comprise the following offences—rape, attempted rape, unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 14 years, unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl over 14 years but under 17 years, indecent assaults (on female, female child, male and male child), indecency between males, indecent exposure, indecent conduct towards a child and other sexual offences. (2) Please note that figures for 2006 are provisional and are liable to revision. Source: Central Statistics Unit, PSNI

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