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2 Jun 2008 : Column 729W—continued
Departmental Written Questions
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Parliamentary Questions her Department declined to answer on grounds of (a) disproportionate cost and (b) information not held centrally in each of the last five years. [198635]
Jacqui Smith: We are unable to provide the information in the format requested.
Detection Rates
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) detection rate and (b) sanction detection rate of (i) recorded offences, (ii) offences of violence against the person, (iii) homicides and (iv) burglary for each police force was in each year since 1988. [195561]
Jacqui Smith: The available information is given in the tables placed in the House Library. Homicide detection rates for individual police forces are only available from 2000-01 onwards.
Non-sanction detections that contribute to the overall detection rate have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many police forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detection rates over time are not fully comparable. From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstances.
Emergency Calls
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies she has conducted into the viability of a 999 text message service for use by members of the public. [205720]
Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
My Department has not conducted such studies. Short Message Service (SMS) text is a store and forward medium with no guarantee of delivery, and in most cases the sender will not know whether a message has been received. This means that SMS text is not generally suitable for emergency calls.
However, BERR officials, working with other Government Departments, the telecommunication service providers, the emergency services and representatives of deaf and other user organisations,
have identified a technical solution for providing an emergency SMS text service for the deaf, and those with hearing or speech impairment. Technical development will be necessary before trials can be carried out. It is hoped that the work will be completed later this year. The service will provide an alternative option for those who routinely use SMS text and either do not use a text relay service or may be in a situation where it is not available.
As SMS does not provide a real time service and cannot be a substitute for voice or text relay services, any emergency SMS service will only be available to those who have registered with the service and accept its limitations.
European Police Office: Finance
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 April 2008, Official Report, column 120WS, on Europol, how much the UK contributes annually to the organisation’s budget. [205600]
Jacqui Smith: Europol is funded by direct member state contributions on the basis of each country’s gross domestic product. The amount of the contribution will vary year on year depending on both the agreed budget and taking account of the financial outturn at the end of each year. The United Kingdom’s contributions for the six years 2002-07 are as follows:
| € million | |
The Europol budget for 2008 is €63.9 million and the maximum United Kingdom contribution—assuming all the budget was called up—would be €9.65 million.
Firearms: Injuries
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people carrying replica firearms were (a) injured and (b) killed as a result of police action in each of the last 10 years; [198592]
(2) how many people carrying replica guns were (a) injured and (b) killed by the police in each of the last 10 years. [200240]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. The collection of this information is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Gating Orders
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) gating orders have been made under the provision of section 129A of the Highways Act 1980 and (b) public inquiries have been held into proposed gating orders when objections have been received from members of the public. [207087]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 22 May 2008]: Details of the number of “gating orders”, granted for crime or antisocial behaviour purposes under section 129A of the Highways Act 1980 are collected by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and are provided in the table placed in the House Library. These orders came into force on 1 April 2006. Details of the number of public inquiries that have been held into proposed “gating orders” when objections have been received from members of the public are not collected centrally.
Genetics: Databases
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA samples were stored on the national DNA database at the end of each year since the database was created. [191172]
Jacqui Smith: It is not possible to give the total number of profiles on the database at the end of each year, however, the table shows the number of profiles added to the National DNA Database (NDNAD) by English and Welsh police forces in each year since its inception. The numbers cannot be added to give the total number of profiles on the NDNAD, as some profiles will have been removed throughout each year.
It should be noted that the number of subject profiles held on the database is not the same as the number of individuals with a profile on the database. As it is possible for a profile to be loaded onto the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded.
| Crime scene profiles added | Subject profiles added | |
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes with a DNA match to the Scottish DNA database resulted in (a) prosecution and (b) conviction in each year since 1998. [205597]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office does not hold the information requested as this is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes with a DNA match to the Scottish DNA database resulted in (a) a direct and (b) an indirect police detection in England and Wales in each year since 1998. [205598]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office does not hold the information requested as this is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the cost was of removing DNA samples from the National DNA database in each year since 1995; [205636]
(2) what the cost was of removing one individual's DNA sample from the National DNA database in the most recent period for which figures are available. [205637]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 15 May 2008]: Decisions on the removal of DNA profiles from the National DNA Database (NDNAD), and the destruction of the DNA sample, rest with the chief officer of the police force which took the sample. The chief officer may consult the Association of Chief Police Officers Criminal Record Office (ACPO CRO), a specialist unit which provides advice on the removal of DNA and fingerprint records, before making a decision. If a chief officer decides that a DNA profile should be removed from the NDNAD, they will instruct the NDNAD Custodian that the profile be removed and the DNA sample destroyed.
There will be some associated costs arising for the police force which took the sample; for the ACPO CRO, if the request is referred to them for advice; for the NDNAD; and for the forensic supplier laboratory where the sample is stored. It is not possible to disaggregate the costs of removing profiles and samples from general NDNAD service delivery costs or the general administrative costs of the other organisations involved.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual cost was of retaining one individual DNA sample on the National DNA database in the most recent period for which figures are available. [205640]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 15 May 2008]: A DNA sample is biological material containing cells with a person's DNA, whereas a DNA profile is a numerical sequence stored on the NDNAD, which is an information technology system. A subject sample is taken from an arrested person, usually by means of a swab which picks up cells from the inside of the cheek. A crime scene sample is one retrieved from material at a crime scene, for example blood, semen or saliva. A DNA sample is analysed to produce a DNA profile by an accredited supplier of forensic science services. A DNA profile is a numerical sequence, representing part of the DNA in the sample, which can be entered on the National DNA Database.
The costs of processing, and retaining, DNA samples fall to individual police forces. They vary depending on the contractual relationship between the police force and the forensic supplier, which is commercially confidential.
The cost of retaining DMA profiles is the cost of running the NDNAD Information Technology system. In the most recent year for which figures are available, 2006-07, this was £2,041,743. Dividing this figure by the number of subject and crime scene profiles held gives an average cost per profile of 45 pence for that year.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes with a DNA match to records in the Scottish DNA Database there were in Scotland in each year since 1998. [205642]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 15 May 2008] The Home Office does not hold the information requested as this is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many DNA profiles were on the national DNA database at the end of each financial year since 1994; [206169]
(2) how many individual DNA profiles were (a) added to and (b) removed from the national DNA database in each (i) month and (ii) financial year since 1994; [206170]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 16 May 2008]: It is not possible to give the total number of profiles on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) at the end of each year, however, the table gives the number of profiles added to the NDNAD by English and Welsh police forces in each year since its inception. The numbers cannot be added to give the total number of profiles on the NDNAD, as some profiles will have been removed throughout each year.
It should be noted that the number of subject profiles held on the NDNAD is not the same as the number of individuals with a profile on the database. As it is possible for a profile to be loaded onto the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded.
For figures on the number of removals from the NDNAD, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 8 January 2008, Official Report, column 455W.
| Crime scene profiles added | Subject profiles added | |
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