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19 Mar 2007 : Column 676W—continued

Special Constables: Recruitment

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the target of recruiting 14,000 special constables by March 2007 has been met; and if he will make a statement. [127422]

Mr. McNulty [holding answer 9 March 2007]: The Police Service Strength statistical bulletin published on 26 July 2006 shows that on 31 March 2006 there were 13,179 special constables in England and Wales. Figures for 31 March 2007 will be published in July this year.

Stop and Search

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) stop and account and (b) stop and search forms were completed by each police force in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available. [122932]

Mr. McNulty [holding answer 23 February 2007]: The last year for which figures are available for stop and searches are 2004-05 and are shown in the following table below. These figures reflect the number of stop and searches recorded by each police force area in relation to powers under section one of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and other legislation; section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

From 1 April 2005, police forces have been required to collect figures on the recording of encounters by police officers in accordance with paragraphs 4.11 - 4.20 of the PACE code of practice on exercise by police officers of statutory powers of stop and search (Code A). Issues relating to the quality and completeness of the 2005-06 figures mean they remain subject to further work before they can be published by the Home Office, however police forces are able to use their data for local accountability.

19 Mar 2007 : Column 677W

‘Stop and searches’ of persons under s1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and other legislation, 2004-05
Police force area	Total
Avon and Somerset	17,897
Bedfordshire	3,507
Cambridgeshire	5,328
Cheshire	13,536
Cleveland	14,367
Cumbria	5,702
Derbyshire	10,592
Devon and Cornwall	21,096
Dorset	6,160
Durham	9,317
Essex	8,131
Gloucestershire	4,018
Greater Manchester	58,118
Hampshire	24,336
Hertfordshire	12,083
Humberside	6,159
Kent	11,482
Lancashire	21,642
Leicestershire	13,597
Lincolnshire	6,878
London, City of	6,915
Merseyside	21,354
Metropolitan Police	237,104
Norfolk	6,345
Northamptonshire	7,123
Northumbria	24,698
North Yorkshire	3,832
Nottinghamshire	4,318
South Yorkshire	24,151
Staffordshire	19,525
Suffolk	4,274
Surrey	9,755
Sussex	12,312
Thames Valley	20,542
Warwickshire	5,713
West Mercia	9,327
West Midlands	30,119
West Yorkshire	74,256
Wiltshire	4,648
Dyfed-Powys	8,316
Gwent	6,059
North Wales	11,899
South Wales	13,446
England and Wales	839,977
Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Vandalism

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of vandalism were reported in (a) England, (b) Suffolk, (c) Bedfordshire, (d) Cambridgeshire, (e) Essex, (f) Hertfordshire and (g) Norfolk in each year since 1997. [127868]

Mr. Coaker: The available information relates to offences of criminal damage recorded by the police and the information is in the tables.

Table 1: Offences of criminal damage recorded by the police—1997
	Number
England	822,029
Suffolk	7,835
Bedfordshire	8,025
Cambridgeshire	9,250
Essex	18,845
Hertfordshire	9,831
Norfolk	9,782

Table 2: Offences of criminal damage recorded by the police—1998-99 to 2001-02
Number
	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02
England	823,520	890,756	906,800	1,007,634
Suffolk	7,898	9,547	10,150	12,095
Bedfordshire	7,893	8,048	7,892	8,191
Cambridgeshire	11,925	12,110	13,197	13,972
Essex	18,834	21,766	24,673	26,990
Hertfordshire	10,177	11,560	13,839	15,302
Norfolk	10,393	10,978	11,481	13,065
Note: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997. 2. The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.

19 Mar 2007 : Column 678W

Table 3: Offences of criminal damage recorded by the police—2002-03 to 2005-06
Number
	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
England	1,043,197	1,139,308	1,121,057	1,107,752
Suffolk	11,497	12,817	12,781	13,067
Bedfordshire	10,050	11,065	10,561	10,817
Cambridgeshire	16,153	16,534	16,227	14,680
Essex	30,337	34,253	32,406	30,564
Hertfordshire	17,988	19,887	20,762	20,986
Norfolk	16,030	17,462	17,470	17,577
Note: The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Young Offenders: Mental Health Services

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were referred to (a) acute local child and adolescent mental health services and (b) non-acute local child and adolescent mental health services in each year since 2002; and if he will make a statement. [126058]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested is shown in the table.

Referrals to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) by youth offending teams for each year since 2002
	Acute	Non-acute
2002	510	2,052
2003	936	6,427
2004	833	6,102
2005	689	5,937
2006	525	6,440
Source: Youth Justice Board.

A combined screening and assessment method for mental health, physical health and substance misuse of young people in the young peoples estate is currently in development and planning for the implementation stage is under way. This project is supported by a cross- departmental working group of National Treatment Agency, Youth Justice Board, Prison Health and Prison Service Women and Young People Group.

A new framework “Promoting Mental Health for Children held in Secure Settings: A Framework for Commissioning Services”, developed in partnership by the Department of Health, Home Office, Youth Justice Board and Department for Education and Skills, will be launched this month and will set out best practice guidelines for commissioning services for children in secure settings.

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