House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 28 Oct 2002 (pt 32)

Reoffenders

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of notifiable offences is committed by persistent reoffenders; and if he will make a statement. [75739]

Hilary Benn [holding answer 23 October 2002]: Research suggests that about half of notifiable offences are committed by persistent reoffenders; and that about 15 per cent. of notifiable offences are committed by the core group of offenders who will be targeted under the persistent offender scheme, due to start in February 2003. These estimates are derived from studies on the reconviction of offenders for more serious crimes, with assumptions made to relate them to unsolved crimes. Details of the relevant research can be found in Annex B of the White Paper XCriminal Justice: the Way Ahead" (February 2001).

Sex Offenders Act 1997

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when (a) child murderers and (b) sex offenders, who have been convicted abroad and who subsequently return to the Untied Kingdom, will have their details recorded on the sex offenders' register and be monitored and controlled in the same way that would occur if they had been convicted in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [74925]

Hilary Benn: The review of Part One of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 looked at ways of both:

requiring offenders convicted of sex offences abroad to register on their arrival in the UK; and

imposing the registration requirements on offenders who commit offences of violence, including murder, when there is a sexual element to the offence.

The Government consulted on the proposals contained in the review and responses are currently being analysed. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has announced that he intends to publish his proposals for reform of the law in the Autumn and to legislate specifically to enable sex offenders from abroad to be required to register. Such registration would attract the full range of mechanisms for monitoring and control as domestic sex offenders.

Special Constables

Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables are members of the police forces in England and Wales as at the beginning of April; and what his estimates are of the numbers in (a) April 2003 and (b) April 2004. [75334]

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Mr. Denham: Data on special constabulary strength is collected for March and September each year. On 31 March 2002 there were 11,598 serving special constables in police forces in England and Wales.

We have made it clear that the special constabulary has a vital role to play in reducing crime and providing reassurance to the public. The Government is committed to increasing the numbers of specials. We are working with the police service on a number of measures, including a new headline role, new training packages and good practice guidance, to help forces improve performance on the recruitment, management and deployment of specials. A number of XSpecials Champions" forces have been identified to take forward iniatives and support the good practice guidance. Deputy Chief Constable, Peter Fahy, of Surrey Police has agreed to lead the police on this work.

Street Crime

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made in reducing street crime in Sussex. [75157]

Mr. Denham: The Government's street crime initiative is targeted at the 10 forces which account for 83 per cent. of robbery in England and Wales. The initiative is serving to identify and remove any systemic blockages which currently hinder the tackling of street crime not only in those 10 areas, but across the country. Good practice in partnership working across the criminal justice system and between other agencies will be disseminated to all areas, including Sussex.

The Government have recently published figures for the first six months of the initiative including a document detailing the achievements made through partnership working, the XDelivering the Street Crime Initiative: Partnership in Operation" can be found in the Library or on the Crime Reduction website on www.crimereduction.gov.uk/streetcrime.

Examples of what has been achieved so far which have national implication are:

The extension of section 130 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to provide for remands of 12 to 16-year-olds. This power has now been extended to the rest of the country.

The extension of the Bail Act 1976 and the Child and Young Persons Act 1969 to provide tagging while on bail for 12 to 17-year-olds. Tagging for 12 to 16-year-olds has now been extended to the rest of the country. The provision of door-steeping conditions while on bail which allows police officers to check on curfew conditions.

To combat the theft of mobile phones, we have introduced legislation making the reprogramming of the phones unique identifying number (IMEI) illegal.

Through this initiative we are sending out a clear signal that we will not tolerate crime on our streets, wherever it occurs.

Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on coordination of policies on street crime. [75338]

Mr. Denham: The Street Crime Action Group, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, has been meeting regularly since March. These meetings involve ministerial colleagues from across Government,

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the police and other criminal justice agencies, and local government. The group's discussions have focussed on how the police in the 10 areas with the highest levels of street crime can target the problem most effectively. They have also been on how the whole of Government can make a difference, how other agencies, the Crown Prosecution Service, the courts, the Youth Justice Board, schools, local authorities, health, education and social services can join together in a concerted effort to rid the streets of crime on a sustainable basis.

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the levels of street crime. [75339]

Mr. Denham: On 14 October 2002, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced the results of the Street Crime Initiative to date. The figures show that, since the start of the initiative, street crime has fallen by 16 per cent. during the period April to September in the 10 police forces which accounted for over 80 per cent. of the robbery problem in 2001–02. For robbery, the more serious offence, the number of offences in September is 25 per cent. lower than March for the 10 forces as a whole.

The new figures show that what was an escalating situation has been reversed over the period since the launch of the Street Crime Initiative. There has been a 10 per cent. reduction (4,600 offences) in the number of robberies during the period April to September, compared to the same period last year.

The full report, XStreet Crime Initiative: Figures to the end of September", is available in the Library.

Strip Searching

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on action taken following the recent Prison Service report on strip searching; what assessment he has made of technological developments that might replace routine strip searching; what his estimate is of the cost of replacing strip searching by metal detectors at Her Majesty's Prison, Holloway; what guidance he has issued on Prison Service policy and minor changes in procedures; what research he has commissioned to explore further changes in strip searching procedures; and what arrangements he has made for the statistical recording and monitoring of strip searches. [74268]

Hilary Benn: The Review of Searching was an internal Prison Service review. The recommendations were accepted by the Prison Service Management Board and action to implement the recommendations, including the issue of policy guidance, has been or is being taken.

The recommendations of the review were to:

1. commission research into the effectiveness of strip searching;

2. introduce procedures to ensure that new receptions understand they will be strip searched and what is involved;

3. evaluate emerging technology;

4. ensure statistical recording and monitoring of strip searches will be provided using future information technology (IT) to be introduced throughout the Service;

5. issue guidance on strip searching of menstruating women;

6. issue guidance on strip searching of pregnant, disabled or elderly prisoners;

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7. post-operative and bedridden prisoners, and those who are in severe pain or have recently given birth, should be strip searched only in exceptional circumstances;

8. when the prison officer entry level training course is revised, include awareness of searching of under-18s;

9. revise searching strategies and make specific provisions for young offender institutions (YOIs) continuing to hold juveniles. New strategies for prisons to be re-roled as juvenile centres;

10. issue guidance that gender is not a genuine occupational qualification for cell searching;

11. consider using the sideways stance for rub down searching of violent prisoners;

12. ensure managers set and communicate realistic targets for rub down searches;

13. cease the practice of randomly rub down searching official and professional visitors to Category C and D prisons and to most women's prisons and YOIs;

14. draw a distinction between solicitors and barristers, and legal advisers who are not counted as solicitors for the purposes of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), and should be searched as though they were domestic visitors;

15. issue guidance on how to react to a passive drug dog indication; and

16. issue guidance on when a prisoner may be in the 'sight' of the person of the opposite sex, for the purposes of Prison Rule 41(3).

A copy of the review is available in the Library.

12 of the 16 recommendations have now been implemented, and action on recommendations 2, 4, 11 and 14 is in hand.

Recommendation 2 will be implemented when the Prison Service Order on Reception, which is currently being reviewed, is re-issued. Recommendations 11 and 14 will be covered in the revision of the Security Manual, which is under way. Recommendation 4 is that the Prison Service should make arrangements for the statistical recording and monitoring of strip searches. An IT solution to this requirement is being considered by the Prison Service's IT provider, although its achievement will depend on an assessment of the relative priority compared with other major IT developments needed by the service.

Recommendation 3 was to set aside resources to evaluate technology to replace routine strip searching. The Prison Service has set aside resources to enable the Police Scientific Development Branch to do this. As present, there are no suitable available alternatives capable of finding all items found during a search, such as drugs, weapons or other contraband.

There are no plans to use metal detectors in place of strip searching at Holloway prison, or elsewhere. Metal detectors are unable to detect drugs and any non-metallic contraband hidden beneath clothing.

A Prison Service Instruction issued in August 2000 dealt with the minor changes in procedures covered in recommendations 5, 6, 7, 10, 12 and 16. Governors were asked to comply with recommendations 9, 13 and 15 in separate guidance and correspondence.

The Prison Service has commissioned research into strip searching procedures and perceptions (to meet recommendation 1). The research will be carried out by a research team from Nottingham University. The

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research methodology is being developed, and the research will be carried out in a representative sample of prisons over the next nine months. The researchers are due to make their report to the Prison Service by September 2003.

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