| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
21 Jun 2007 : Column 2076W—continued
Police: Pay
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ranges of pay are for all ranks in the police force. [144170]
Mr. McNulty: This information is available in ‘the Determinations of the Secretary of State under the Police Regulations 2003’ Annex F. This information is too large to be included in the O fficial R eport, but I will arrange for a copy of the document to be placed in the House of Commons Library shortly. It can also be found in Home Office circular 014/2007 on the Home Office website under:
http://www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/HO/circular.nsfA/iewTemplatepercent20Forpercent20HOCircularsWeb?OpenForm &Start=1&Count=30&Expand=1&Seq=1
Police: Protective Clothing
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of police officers are provided with stab-proof vests while on duty in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the South West. [143195]
Mr. McNulty: Decisions about the selection, purchase and issue of body armour are matters for individual chief officers of police.
Police: Uniforms
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) guidance he has issued to police authorities and (b) recent discussions he has held with police staff associations on police uniforms styles; and if he will make a statement. [143249]
Mr. McNulty: The design of police uniforms is a matter for individual chief constables and their police authorities. A national advisory specification has been provided to forces by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), who have met with police staff associations to discuss this issue.
Police: Weapons
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what non-lethal weaponry is in development for use by the police. [143753]
Mr. McNulty:
The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) completed a comprehensive survey of less lethal technologies in 2001. That survey, and the work that followed, resulted in the introduction of conducted energy devices to
England and Wales in the form of the Taser M26 in 2003 and the Taser X26 in 2005. Kinetic energy devices were introduced to the United Kingdom in the form of the L21A1 baton round system in 2002. The L21A1 system was replaced by the L60A1 Attenuating Energy Projectile system in 2005.
HOSDB has since been tasked with assessing promising commercial off-the-shelf products against the Association of Chief Police Officers' operational requirement as they become available. Additionally the UK Steering Group on Alternative Policing Approaches Towards the Management of Conflict has put in place a programme to develop a Discriminating Irritant Projectile (DIP) that will provide police with a round that will produce a discriminating cloud of irritant at distances of up to 40 metres.
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what newly-developed non-lethal weapons have been supplied to police officers in the last five years. [143754]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office Scientific Development Branch completed a comprehensive survey of less lethal technologies in 2001. That survey, and the work that followed, resulted in the introduction in England and Wales of conducted energy devices (CED) in the form of the Taser M26 in 2003 and the Taser X26 in 2005. Kinetic energy (KE) devices in the form of the L21A1 baton round system were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2002 in support to firearms. The L60A1 Attenuating Energy Projectile system replaced the L21A1 system in 2005 as part of a cross government development programme to identify a less potentially lethal alternative to the baton round. Water cannon were made available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in 2004. CS spray was approved for use by the Police Service in Northern Ireland in 2003, having previously been introduced in England and Wales in 1997.
Proceeds of Crime: Wales
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the South Wales police authority recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since its introduction. [144310]
Mr. Coaker: The total value of confiscation orders and cash forfeiture orders obtained by South Wales police in each of the last four years under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and earlier legislation is as follows:
| £ | |
These include cases involving Regional Asset Recovery Teams. Confiscation orders are enforced by the magistrates courts.
Serious and Organised Crime Agency: Manpower
Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and
(b) police support staff have been reassigned to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency since its creation, broken down by the region and branch from which they were reassigned. [141919]
Mr. Coaker: Prior to the launch of SOCA, police officers who were seconded into National Crime Squad (NCS) and National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) were given the opportunity to become directly employed by the NCS. Most of the police officers took this opportunity. On 1 April 2006 1,104 police officers and 760 non-police staff transferred into SOCA from National Crime Squad as permanent staff. A further 72 police officers retained their secondment status on transfer. Seconded police officers will return to their home force on completion of their period of secondment. No police officers or support staff transferred onto SOCA’s staff directly from a police force. Since April 2006 no police officers have been reassigned to SOCA.
SOCA’s functions are set out in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. They are to prevent and detect serious organised crime, to contribute to its reduction in other ways and the mitigation of its consequences. All SOCA officers in the UK and overseas are deployed in support of these functions.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) support staff (i) the Sussex branch and (ii) other UK operational regions of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency has at its disposal. [141920]
Mr. Coaker: As reported in SOCA’s 2006-07 annual report, at the year end actual employment was at approximately 4,400 full-time equivalent staff. These represented a mix of staff from precursor agencies (NCIS, NCS, IND and HMRC), Government Departments, secondees and some new recruits.
SOCA’s functions are set out in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. They are to prevent and detect serious organised crime, to contribute to its reduction in other ways and the mitigation of its consequences. All SOCA officers in the UK and overseas are deployed in support of these functions.
SOCA is not a police force. Its officers may be designated by the Director General with the powers of a Constable and/or Immigration Officer and/or Customs Officer dependent on operational need and on the basis of the capability, suitability and training of the individual officer. On 1 April 2006, 1,821 SOCA Officers were designated with the power of arrest.
Sexual Offences
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted on charges relating to having sexual intercourse with an underage person in each police force in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last three years; what percentage of these cases resulted in a custodial sentence; and what the average length of the prison term was. [132152]
Mr. Coaker: The number of people (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted of charges related to having sexual intercourse with an underage person can be viewed in the following table.
Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |