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17 Dec 2008 : Column 855W—continued
Prisons: Suicide
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many self-inflicted deaths there were in (a) all prisons, (b) young offender institutions, (c) male prisons and (d) female prisons in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement. [243777]
Mr. Hanson: Due to the mixed roll of some prisons and changes in those roles over time the numbers for each category used in this question can be answered in several ways. It would also, as worded, exclude four self-inflicted deaths in custody for the period which occurred while on escort. In order to avoid any ambiguity arising from types of prisons we would prefer to answer gender and age related questions on self-inflicted deaths in the following way and trust that this will suffice.
| Sel f-inflicted deaths by gender an d age group | |||||||
| Age range | Gender | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008( 1) |
| 1 As at 11 December 2008 | |||||||
The Ministry of Justice and the Prison Service are committed to reducing the number of such tragic incidents. Good care and support from staff save many lives, but such instances go largely unreported. Prisons successfully keep safe in any given month approximately 1,500 prisoners assessed to be at particular risk.
Reparation by Offenders
Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the fourth report of the evaluation of restorative justice; and if he will make a statement. [242271]
Maria Eagle: Our assessment of the effectiveness of restorative justice for adults following the fourth and final report of the evaluation of the crime reduction programme restorative justice pilots is that restorative justice can deliver high levels of victim satisfaction, and may also help to reduce reoffending. We are therefore considering what further encouragement we can provide to support the continued growth of adult restorative justice, in particular, as a means of improving victim satisfaction with the criminal justice process.
Road Traffic Offences: Convictions
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many (a) males and (b) females were convicted of offences in England and Wales under sections (i) 14(3), (ii) 15(2) and (iii) 15(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1998 in 2007; [242750]
(2) how many (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 17 to 24, (ii) 25 to 30, (iii) 31 to 35, (iv) 36 to 40 and (v) over 40 years old were (A) prosecuted and (B) convicted for (1) failing to comply with a road sign, (2) offences under sections (x) 14(3), (y) 15(2) and (z) 15(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1998, (3) failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis, (4) failing to stop for a police constable and (5) disobeying a police constable stopping traffic in (aa) the Essex Police area, (bb) the Metropolitan Police area and (cc) England and Wales in 2007. [242751]
Maria Eagle: The number of males and females proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for various motoring offences, by sex and age group, within the Essex police force area, Metropolitan police force area, and England and Wales in 2007 can be seen in tables 1 to 3 which have been placed in the Library.
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.
Home Department
Airguns
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many registered airsoft skirmishers there are in the UK; [243422]
(2) how many registered airsoft skirmishing sites there are; and how many there were in December 2007. [243423]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not available centrally.
Alcoholic Drinks: Crime
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the proportion of crimes involving violence and disorder which are related to irresponsible drinking. [243460]
Mr. Alan Campbell: We do not have an estimate for crimes involving violence and disorder specifically related to irresponsible drinking. However, 'Crime in England and Wales 2007-08' indicates that 45 per cent. of victims of violent incidents believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol. Supplementary tables of 'Crime in England and Wales 2006-07' show that 18 per cent. of all violence occurred in a pub or club and 48 per cent. of all violent offences were committed between Friday evening and Monday morning.
Animal Experiments: Primates
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has (a) inspected and (b) approved an overseas primate supply or breeding facility in Cambodia for the export of primates to the UK for the purposes of scientific research; and if she will make a statement. [243007]
Meg Hillier: We have previously considered the suitability of a laboratory primate breeding centre in Cambodia, and are reviewing its potential suitability in the light of additional documentation recently received. However, to date we have not received any requests from UK project licence holders to authorise the use of non-human primates acquired from breeding centres in Cambodia. No approval for such requests will be considered until the centre has been visited by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will extend the ban on the importation of wild-caught primates to include primates imported for the purposes of scientific research from countries where there is an indigenous population of that species. [243018]
Meg Hillier: We have no plans to do so. The use under project licence authority of any non-human primate originating from an overseas source requires the express and prior approval of the Secretary of State which is given only if the conditions at the breeding centre are acceptable to the Home Office at that time. The Home Office appraisal of overseas primate breeding centres is an ongoing process taking account of additional relevant information as it becomes available, whether that be from the breeding centre itself, from users or other stakeholders. Part of this appraisal is to ensure, as far as is practical, from the records maintained, that the non-human primates are not wild caught.
Borders: Security
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost of establishing a permanent security presence on duty at all times at all ports of entry to the UK. [243514]
Jacqui Smith: No such estimate is available.
British National Party
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information she holds on whether allegations of threats of violence have been reported to the police by members of the British National Party since the Party's membership list was posted on the internet; and if she will make a statement. [240528]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The police have produced a strategic threat assessment on risks to members of the British National Party following the publication of the party's membership on the internet. That assessment has been copied to the Home Office and includes a summary of threats of violence that have been reported to the police.
Burglary
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of burglary from a dwelling were recorded in each month of (a) 2007 and (b) 2008 to date. [243262]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 15 December 2008]: Police forces in England and Wales are asked to provide monthly cumulative data for use in the Home Office’s quarterly and annual crime statistics publication. However, the validation processes relate to quarterly data rather than monthly and therefore quarterly data for offences of burglary in a dwelling are given in the following table. Quarterly data for July to September 2008 will be published on 22 January 2009.
| Offences of burglary in a dwelling recorded by the police in England and Wales | |
| Quarter | Number of offences |
Driving Under Influence: Thames Valley Police
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests for drink-driving offences there were in the Thames Valley police force area in each of the last 20 quarters for which records are available, broken down by basic command unit. [244432]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The data requested are not collected centrally.
The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery.
Offences of drink-driving under the Road Traffic Act 1988 are summary offences that do not form a part of the arrests collection. Additionally, data on arrests for the offence of ‘causing death by careless driving while
under the influence of drink or drugs’ cannot be separated from within the ‘violence against the person’ offence group.
Data are broken down at police force area level only.
Genetics: Databases
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on how many occasions personal information and DNA samples which (a) were planned to be loaded onto and (b) had been loaded onto the national DNA database have been lost; and if she will make a statement; [240305]
(2) what procedures are in place to ensure the security of personal information and DNA samples that (a) are waiting to be processed into a DNA profile and (b) have been loaded onto the national DNA database; and if she will make a statement. [240306]
Mr. Alan Campbell: DNA samples taken by police forces are sent to accredited forensic suppliers for processing, to produce a profile for loading on the National DNA Database (NDNAD). On behalf of the NDNAD Strategy Board, the Custodian sets the technical and procedural standards to which the laboratories must adhere and monitors their performance against these standards. These standards are all contained within the Custodian's quality management system and shared with the laboratories. Security measures on the NDNAD itself are also managed by the Custodian.
Direct access to information on the NDNAD is restricted to a limited number of designated personnel under the control of the Custodian, either directly, or under a contract awarded by the Home Office to the Forensic Science Service (FSS) for operation and maintenance of the NDNAD and development of its IT systems. Throughout the lifetime of the contract, the FSS are required to demonstrate compliance with specified security requirements.
Police and law enforcement personnel do not have access to the information on the NDNAD, but receive reports from the Custodian's staff of matches between DNA taken from crime scenes and that taken from individuals.
There has been one incident affecting DNA profiles which were to be loaded onto the NDNAD. This was the recent occasion when a disc containing profiles taken from crime scenes in the Netherlands was mislaid and subsequently recovered, though it never left the secure premises of the Crown Prosecution Service. The disc did not contain any personal information, as the DNA profiles were left by unknown persons at crime scenes in the Netherlands.
There have been no incidents when data loaded onto the NDNAD has been lost.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the increase in the number of profiles on the police DNA database over the last year for which figures exist represents persons who were not found guilty of any offence; and if she will make a statement. [241801]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
The National DNA Database (NDNAD) does not contain information about criminal records, as this is not necessary for its function of
matching DNA from crime scenes with DNA from individuals. Criminal record information is held on the Police National Computer (PNC). The information sought could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 9 June 2008, Official Report, column 75W, on human trafficking: females, what steps are being taken by the (a) Serious Organised Crime Agency and (b) United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre to improve collection of intelligence of human trafficking; and when she expects improved statistics on the extent of human trafficking in the United Kingdom to be published. [241516]
Jacqui Smith: SOCA produces the National Intelligence Requirement (NIR) for Serious Organised Crime, which systematically identifies gaps in knowledge around all key threat areas, including human trafficking. Agencies report against the NIR throughout the year in order to inform the UK Threat Assessment (UKTA) of Serious Organised Crime, which is collated by SOCA on behalf of UK law enforcement and published annually. The resultant improvements in knowledge of human trafficking will be reflected in the UKTA.
This work is supported by the UKHTC through its collaboration with SOCA and through its role as the central repository of all data and intelligence on human trafficking. We already have an estimate of the number of women trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation. We hope to be able to revise this estimate by the end of 2009.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims of human trafficking were identified during police operations in each of the last five years. [241542]
Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
Data on the number of victims identified during police operations is not collected centrally. The police did collect data on the number of victims recovered during the co-ordinated enforcement campaigns Operation Pentameter 1 and 2 which is shown in the following table.
| Campaign | Victims recovered | |
| (1) Victims of sexual exploitation. (2) Victims of trafficking for domestic servitude/forced labour. | ||
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