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14 Oct 2008 : Column 1064W

Crime Prevention: ICT

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of computer modelling of crime and its causes. [217325]

Jacqui Smith: Officials in the Home Department use a wide range of techniques to analyse crime and its causes, drawn from economics, social research, statistics and operational research. Alongside the qualitative assessment of crime and its effects, models of the causes of crime can help us understand the simultaneous impact of those causes and show which are the most significant.

Crime: Business

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time members of staff her Department employs to deal with business crime. [221381]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Many parts of the Home Office support work to tackle crimes affecting business. This includes developing responses to specific crimes such as fraud, e-crime, retail crime, commercial robbery and criminal damage as well as work to encourage and support business to work closely in partnership with the police and local authorities through the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs). All of this activity is supported by a number of staff who provide performance advice, and statistical and analytical support.

Crime: Cambridgeshire

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prolific and priority offenders there were in each Basic Command Unit in the Cambridgeshire Constabulary area at (a) 31 December 2007, (b) 30 March 2008 and (c) 30 June 2008; and if she will make a statement. [226101]

Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 13 October 2008]: The most recent data available from the performance management arrangements for the Prolific and other Priority Offender programme covers the period from January to March 2008. This shows that there were 134 Prolific and other Priority Offenders within the area covered by Cambridgeshire Constabulary at the end of March this year. The figure for the end of December 2007 was 135.

A more detailed breakdown is given in the table.

Basic Command Unit CDRP/PPO scheme December 2007 March 2008

Southern

Cambridge

35

35

Southern

East Cambridgeshire

9

9

Southern

South Cambridgeshire

6

6

Central

Fenland

13

13

Central

Huntingdonshire

43

42

Northern

Peterborough

29

29


14 Oct 2008 : Column 1065W

Crime: Economic Situation

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to address potential increases in levels of crime resulting from a downturn in the economy. [223849]

Mr. Alan Campbell: Since March 2003, overall crime has fallen by 18 per cent., exceeding the 15 per cent. target set out in the Home Office's public service agreement. That reduction is greater than would have been forecast based on socio-economic factors alone, and the Department is confident that the right policies and systems are in place to continue to cut crime and that they provide the flexibility needed to respond to future economic challenges.

Crime: Torbay

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were (a) charged and (b) convicted of (i) public order offences and (ii) offences against the person in the Torbay area in each of the last seven years. [225373]

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.

The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to the Offences against the persons Act 1861 s.18, 20, and 47, and the Public Order Act 1986 s.1 to 5, in Devon and Cornwall police force area, 2000 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table.

Court proceedings data are unable to be broken down further than police force area level; hence data has been provided for Devon and Cornwall police force area in lieu of Torbay area.

Charging data are not held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. Therefore prosecution data is provided in lieu.

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 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.

Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.


14 Oct 2008 : Column 1066W
N umber of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to the Offences against the persons Act 1861 s.18, 20, and 47, and the Public Order Act 1986 s. 1 to 5, in Devon and Cornwall police force area, 2000 to 2006( 1,2)
Offences against the person Act 1861, s.18, 20, and 47 Public Order Act 1986 s. 1 to 5

Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty

2000

918

506

1,748

1,117

2001

850

435

1,647

985

2002

1,060

515

1,630

949

2003

1,104

574

1,525

968

2004

992

530

1,343

966

2005

900

517

1,301

844

2006

686

447

1,174

787

(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.
Source:
Office for Criminal Justice Reform - Evidence and Analysis Unit

Crimes Against Humanity

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases the War Crimes Unit in the Border Agency investigated for (a) suspected war crimes, (b) crimes against humanity and (c) genocide in each year since 2004. [224629]

Mr. Woolas: The following table shows numbers of cases considered by the war crimes team in each year. The figures quoted are not provided under national statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Cases considered by war crimes team

Number

2004

49

2005

347

2006

326

2007

600

2008 (January to September)

541


The figures cover all cases in the three categories requested. The information could not be further broken down into the individual categories without the detailed examination of individual case records.

Departmental Data Protection

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many private contractors have been granted access to personal data held by her Department in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [223603]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 11 September 2008]: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Procurement

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of invoices for goods and services procured from small and medium-sized businesses were paid within 30 days of receipt by (a) her Department and ( b) the agencies for which her Department is responsible in 2007-08; and if she will make a statement. [226491]

Mr. Woolas: Details of the prompt payment record can be found in the annual report section (page 23) of the Department's 2007-08 Resource Accounts on the Home Office website at:

It is the Department's policy to pay its suppliers within 30 days of the receipt of a valid invoice, and it subscribes to the CBI code and the British Standard (BS 7890) on the prompt payment of suppliers.


14 Oct 2008 : Column 1067W

Departmental Security

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many security passes of staff in (a) her Department and (b) its departmental agencies were reported (i) lost and (ii) stolen in each year since 2001. [195037]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 18 March 2008]: The number of Home Office security passes reported lost or stolen (broken down where known) yearly since 2001 are in the table. As soon as passes are reported missing, they can be deactivated to prevent entry to the circle door locks. The passes do not have any logo to indicate that they can provide access to the Home Office or a particular building. This is in accordance with the Cabinet Office Manual of Protective Security, which advises each Department to have its own design.

The number of passes reported lost or stolen increased over 2002-06 due in part to the increase in the numbers of staff and contractors employed but also to improvements in record keeping.

Table 1: Number of Home Office passes lost or stolen since 2001

Number

2001

64

2002

138

2003

291

2004

321

2005

Lost

292

Stolen

18

2006

Lost

396

Stolen

32

2007

Lost

443

Stolen

44

2008 (to end July)

Lost

227

Stolen

24


Drugs: Smuggling

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested for and (b) convicted of drug trafficking offences as a result of operations by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08. [219437]

Jacqui Smith: In 2006-07, SOCA recorded that there were 601 arrests and 236 convictions in operations where drug trafficking offences was the primary threat. Similarly in 2007-08 there were 774 arrests and 243 convictions in operations where drug trafficking was the primary threat.


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