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22 Apr 2008 : Column 1943W—continued
Firearms: Alcoholic Drinks
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were subject to legal proceedings arising from being in possession of a loaded firearm while under the influence of alcohol in each of the last five years. [197073]
Jacqui Smith: Data showing the number of persons proceeded against for being drunk when in possession of a loaded firearm in England and Wales from 2002 to 2006 have been provided by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and are given in the following table.
The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
| Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for being drunk when in possession of a loaded firearm, England and Wales, 2002 to 2006( 1, 2) | |
| Number | |
| (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) 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 the courts and 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. | |
Foreign Workers: Domestic Service
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consultation period on
migrant domestic workers visas ends; and if she will meet abused or trafficked migrant domestic workers to discuss their situation. [197983]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 2 April 2008]: Research and analysis in respect of the current provisions for overseas domestic workers is ongoing and will be published when it is completed. In the light of its findings we will consider separately, with interested parties, how best to achieve protection for any person, irrespective of how they have entered the UK, who is found to be a victim of trafficking.
This may involve further direct meetings with migrant domestic workers or with organisations representing them.
Genetics: Databases
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the written ministerial statement of 27 June 2007, Official Report, column 31WS, on the Justice and Home Affairs Council, when she expects the UK to begin sharing data on fingerprints, DNA and vehicle registration under the terms of the EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation. [192783]
Jacqui Smith: The EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation (also know as the PrĂ1/4m Council Decision) provides improved arrangements for the sharing of fingerprint, DNA and vehicle registration data by law enforcement authorities. For example, where a DNA sample retrieved from a crime scene is searched against a national database and no match is found, the Council Decision permits for those data to be transmitted and searched through member states' national databases. A notification is sent to the requesting member state notifying of a hit or no hit i.e. matching profile. If a match is identified, further requests for information are processed through existing secure police channels allowing for appropriate data protection safeguards.
The UK expects to begin sharing data in this way within three years of adoption and publication of the legal texts.
Immigration
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the two teams announced in paragraph 13 of her Department's Green Paper “The Path to Citizenship: Next Steps in Reforming the Immigration System” will make their report. [198557]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 3 April 2008]: The two cross-departmental teams are scoping work and will provide advice to Ministers in the summer.
Immigration: EC Action
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon in respect of (a) uniform standards for asylum and (b) the rights of legal immigrants from outside the EU. [198689]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 3 April 2008]: The provisions set out a more detailed analysis of the basic principles of Article 63 on minimum standards for asylum and legal migration in the Treaty Establishing the European Community.
Under the Lisbon treaty the UK will be able to choose whether or not to participate in each individual Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) measure.
Metropolitan Police: Carbon Emissions
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of carbon offsetting through the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund by the Metropolitan Police Service for travel in 2006-07 was for air travel (a) by those on official business outside London and (b) for operational police purposes within London. [198220]
Mr. Byrne: Participation in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund and air travel undertaken by the Metropolitan Police within and outside London are matters for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. However, a list of Government Carbon Offsetting Fund members, their emission figures and what activities they have offset through the fund is available online at:
Offenders: Deportation
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the reply of the Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency to question 18 of the evidence session before the Home Affairs Committee on 15 January 2008, in how many cases deportation of a foreign individual serving more than 12 months has not occurred because of (a) a decision by a court and (b) a decision not to seek deportation for other reasons. [181848]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested could be obtained only through the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost. We have made clear that our objective is that foreign national prisoners should face deportation, when they meet the relevant criteria, and that deportation should happen as early as possible in their sentence.
Police
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has issued to the police on dealing with people who voluntarily present themselves at police stations to help police with enquiries. [192249]
Jacqui Smith:
Code C issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 is the code of practice for the detention, treatment and questioning of persons by police officers. Persons who attend the police station voluntarily must be offered refreshments at appropriate times and if they are not arrested but are cautioned, informed that they have the right to obtain free legal advice. There are no restrictions on the ability
of the person to make contact with people outside the police station. The code also requires that any person who is arrested at the police station having attended voluntarily must be brought before the custody officer as soon as possible after their arrest. The custody officer is then responsible for opening a custody record for the individual and ensuring that the relevant provisions and safeguards in PACE are applied.
Police: Public Opinion
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the findings of opinion polls on changes in public attitudes towards the police. [197293]
Jacqui Smith: The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely includes a question on confidence in the local police and the results are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Crime in England and Wales, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.
Following a long period of declining levels of confidence in the police, there have been rising levels of confidence in recent years. The 2006-07 BCS showed that 51 per cent. of people thought their local police did a good or excellent job.
Pornography: Internet
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought under the Communications Act 2003 for using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images. [195543]
Jacqui Smith: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images under the Communications Act 2003 S.127 in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table.
Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
The Communications Act 2003 Section 127 came into full force on 29 December 2003.
Public Order Offences
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether people arrested for public order offences when drunk are routinely tested for illegal drugs; [199996]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of people arrested for public order offences who were found to have taken cocaine in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [200003]
(3) whether people arrested for public order offences are routinely tested for illegal drugs. [200004]
Mr. Coaker: Drug testing of offenders for specified Class A drugs in police custody operates as part of the Drug Interventions Programme in some 176 custody suites across England and Wales.
The police currently have the power to request persons aged 18 and over in police detention who have been charged or arrested with a “trigger offence”, to provide a sample for testing for the presence of a specified Class A drug.
The trigger offences are set out in Schedule 6 to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. These are the offences which have been shown to have the
clearest link with drug misuse, particularly the misuse of heroin and cocaine/crack. The Drugs Intervention Programme regularly reviews the list of trigger offences.
A person arrested or charged with a non trigger offence may be tested if a police officer decides that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Class A drug use caused or contributed to the offence. The decision to authorise a sample must be referred to a police officer of at least the rank of Inspector.
Public order offences are not among the list of trigger offences which require the police to test the offender for the presence of specified Class A drugs including cocaine although tests can be conducted using Inspector’s Authority.
Between 2003 and February 2008, some 2283 tests were conducted for Public Order offences, 32 per cent. (728) of them tested positive for the presence of cocaine. Of these 481 tested positive for cocaine only and 247 for both cocaine and opiates.
Racial Violence
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racially motivated violent attacks took place in (a) England and Wales, (b) the North East, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 1997. [198000]
Mr. Coaker: The available information relates to recorded offences of racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding and assault without injury and is available from 1999-2000. Figures for England and Wales and the North East are given in the following tables. The Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency comes within the Middlesbrough Basic Command Unit for which figures are available from 2000-01. Data for Tees Valley are not available.
| Table 1: racially or religiously aggravated offences of violence recorded by the police—2000-01 and 2001-02 | ||||||
| 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | ||||
| Area | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury |
| n/a = Not available. Note: The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Because of this figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. Prior to that date assault without injury under Home Office Counting rules could include some minor injury. | ||||||
| Table 2: racially or religiously aggravated offences of violence recorded by the police—2002-03 to 2006-07 | ||||||||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | ||||||
| Area | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury | Less serious wounding | Assault without injury |
| Note: The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Because of this figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. Prior to that date assault without injury under Home Office Counting rules could include some minor injury. | ||||||||||
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