Burglary (North Yorkshire)

Oral Answers to Questions — Solicitor-General – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 27 May 2004.

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Photo of Anne McIntosh Anne McIntosh Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Shadow Minister (Transport) 11:30, 27 May 2004

To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the rate of successful prosecution for burglary in north Yorkshire.

Photo of Harriet Harman Harriet Harman Solicitor General (Law Officers), Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee

The conviction rate for all cases in North Yorkshire magistrates court is 98 per cent., and for all cases in the Crown Court the figure is 90 per cent. We do not have separate figures for conviction rates for burglaries in north Yorkshire.

Photo of Anne McIntosh Anne McIntosh Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Shadow Minister (Transport)

I have the separate figures, which show that less than 5 per cent. of burglary cases lead to successful prosecutions. In 2002–03, more than 11,000 burglaries were recorded, but fewer than 700 offenders were brought to justice, which is defined as a successful prosecution. The figure is very low, and I wonder what is going wrong and what damage is being caused to the morale of North Yorkshire police, which brings cases to trial, where the offenders are not successfully prosecuted.

Photo of Harriet Harman Harriet Harman Solicitor General (Law Officers), Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee

In north Yorkshire, the police, prosecutors, courts and other agencies are working together to try to reduce the gap between the number of offences committed and the number of offenders brought to justice. That is happening locally as well as throughout north Yorkshire in general. As the hon. Lady will be aware, there has been a fall in the number of burglaries. The latest information shows that the number of domestic burglaries in north Yorkshire has fallen and that there has been an increase in the number of arrests. It is preferable that burglaries should be deterred, but if they happen, we must ensure that they are detected—that is a major issue—and that people are effectively prosecuted when brought to court. The police and the CPS are working together on that and making some progress.