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26 Oct 2009 : Column 174W—continued
Crime Prevention: Internet
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent from the public purse on the policing of online crime in the most recent period for which figures are available. [294925]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government take online crime very seriously, and have provided funding for a number of specialist units to tackle this form of crime. The Government have provided over £6 million for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) this year to protect children online. The Government have provided £3.5 million over three years for the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) to develop the police response to cybercrime within the UK. The Government also fund the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) e-crime unit, as part of the overall funding for the Agency.
Departmental Manpower
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff there were in his Department (a) in 1997 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [292065]
Mr. Woolas: Information on the number of staff in the Home Department in 1997 has been published by the Cabinet Office (Tables 1A-1D) and is available on-line at:
It should be noted that HM Prison Service is listed separately in this table but was part of the Home Office in 1997.
The Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey statistics for June 2009 are published by ONS and are available on-line. This survey confirms that there are currently 24,640 civil servants working for the Home Office and its Agencies.
Employment numbers over the period will have been affected by machinery of Government changes.
Direct Selling
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an assessment of the merits of developing a password identification system to protect vulnerable people from bogus doorstep callers. [291791]
Mr. Alan Campbell: All electricity, gas and water companies have a doorstep password scheme which enables people to set up their own passwords to verify the identity of doorstep callers. I would encourage people to sign up to such schemes which can offer access to other services for vulnerable customers on the supplier's Priority Service Register.
DNA: Databases
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the records held on the National DNA Database relate to DNA samples taken by police forces in (a) Scotland, (b) England and Wales and (c) Northern Ireland. [294208]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Table 1 shows the number and proportion of all subject profiles retained on the national DNA Database (NDNAD) taken by police forces in Scotland, England and Wales (including British Transport police), and Northern Ireland as at 15 October 2009.
Table 2 shows the number and proportion of crime scene profiles retained on the NDNAD submitted by police forces in Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland as at 15 October 2009.
The number of subject profiles is not the same as the number of individuals. A proportion of DNA profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates, that is, a profile for a person has been loaded on more then one occasion
(this may be because the person gave different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because of upgrading of profiles). It is currently estimated that 13.8 per cent. of profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. The replication rate of 13.8 per cent. should
only be applied over the entire database however, as the replication rate for individual police forces varies considerably. The presence of these replicate profiles on the NDNAD does not impact on the effectiveness and integrity of the database.
| Table 1 | |||
| Force | Number of subject profiles as at 15 October 2009 | Number of individuals (estimated) | Proportion of total subject profiles held on the NDNAD (percentage) |
| (1) For example, Guernsey police, Ministry of Defence police etc. | |||
| Table 2 | ||
| Force | Number of crime scene profiles as at 15 October 2009 | Proportion of crime scene profiles on the NDNAD (percentage) |
| (1) For example, Guernsey police, Ministry of Defence police etc. | ||
Dogs: Animal Welfare
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent trends he has identified in the prevalence of dog fighting in the UK; and what steps his Department is taking to encourage police forces to allocate adequate resources towards reducing the incidence of dog fighting. [294918]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
Our regular meetings with the RSPCA include reviewing dog fighting issues, which has long been an illegal activity. It is premature to speculate on the basis of the available evidence whether there have been any significant trends in the prevalence of dog fighting.
However, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 updated and strengthened the law on animal fighting. The Act created separate offences for animal fighting and significantly increased the maximum financial penalties available to the courts for such offences. Anyone found guilty of an offence related to animal fighting is liable to a maximum fine of £20,000 (previously £5,000), or six months' imprisonment, or both.
We have also recently published new guidance for the police on the enforcement of dangerous dogs law as well as provided the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) with £20,000 to assist in the training of police officers in the use of dangerous dogs law. The guidance and training includes the identification of illegal pit bull type dogs that are commonly used in dog fighting.
The Home Office are legislating (in the Policing and Crime Bill) to create a new power to prevent gang-related violence. This will enable police or local authorities to ask the courts to prohibit gang members from doing a number of things, including being in charge of an animal in a public place.
Drug Interventions Programme
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of people arrested and tested under the Drug Interventions Programme were positive for (a) heroin and (b) crack cocaine in each police force area in each year since 2003. [294178]
Alan Johnson: The drug testing of offenders for specified Class A drugs (heroin and cocaine/crack) in police custody came into operation from 2003 across 30 Basic Command Units (BCUs) as part of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP). Since that time the programme has expanded in a phased approach to 66 BCUs in 2004 and some 107 BCUs in 2005. DIP currently conducts drug testing in 109 BCUs across England and Wales.
Only offenders arrested or charged with a "trigger offence"-largely acquisitive crime related offences-are required to provide a sample to be tested for specified Class A drugs.
Tables 1, 2 and 3 show the number of positive tests under the Drug Interventions Programme for heroin only, cocaine only, and heroin and cocaine combined, for each financial year since data were available.
| Table 1: Heroin only | |||||
| Force | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
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