Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when was the last knife amnesty in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The last national knife amnesty in the UK occurred under Operation Sceptre on 23-29 March this year. Operation Sceptre is a national week of action coordinated by the National Police Chiefs’ Council. The Operation focuses on tackling knife crime and wider violence and in addition to the surrender of knives, including through amnesty bins, it involves targeted stop and searches and weapon sweeps. The next week of action is currently being planned for this September, and knife amnesties are also undertaken by forces on a local level throughout the year.
The Government is committed to tackling knife crime and making our streets safer - we encourage all police forces to participate in Operation Sceptre and run local knife amnesties.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the prevalence of online crime during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
While it is yet too early to identify any trend in online crime since the outbreak of Covid-19 the Government and law enforcement colleagues are working tirelessly to identify and disrupt those seeking to use online platforms to commit these crimes.
Criminals are looking to take advantage; Covid-19-related fraud and cybercrimes now represent 2.7% of all reported fraud to Action Fraud. Operational partners, the National Crime Agency, the National Cyber Security Centre and City of London Police, have thwarted over 2,000 scams in April alone.
The Government is committed to preventing criminals from profiting from covid-19 and ensuring that the public and business can protect themselves.
On 21 April the National Cyber Security Centre launched the Suspicious Email Reporting Service. This allows members of the public to report any suspicious emails. This has received over 160,000 reports, leading to over 300 previously unknown phishing campaigns being taken down.
On 23 April the Home Office launched a gov.uk page on coronavirus-related fraud and cybercrime, including easy-to-follow steps for people to better protect themselves as well as signposting all relevant advice and tips. This page can be at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime
The Home Office are working closely with partner organisations such Trading Standards, the Financial Conduct Authority and all major banks to ensure key online safety guidance and messages are communicated
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the incidence of domestic violence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that can shatter the lives of victims. The Government is committed to tackling and preventing domestic abuse. We reintroduced the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill in the House of Commons on 3 March 2020. The Bill will better protect and support victims of domestic abuse and their children and bring more perpetrators to justice.
In the March 2020 Budget, the Chancellor announced a further £15 million, on top of existing funding, to tackle domestic abuse. This includes £10m for interventions to disrupt the activities of high-harm perpetrators, and £5m for the piloting of domestic abuse courts.
We are working closely with the domestic abuse sector, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and local authorities to understand the impact of coronavirus and self-isolation on victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring all blue light services under the remit of Police and Crime Commissioners.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The locally enabling provisions within the Policing and Crime Act 2017 allow Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take on fire and rescue governance, where a local case is made.
Four PCCs have so far taken on responsibility for fire governance.
There are currently no plans to give PCCs responsibility for further blue light services.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals released under police investigation are still under investigation (1) one month, (2) three months, (3) six months, (4) twelve months, and (5) over twelve months, since their release in each police force in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes information from police forces in England and Wales on the number of people released on pre-charge bail, broken down by bail-length. These are published as experimental statistics in Police powers and procedures England and Wales, the latest version of which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2019
In the year ending March 2019, based on a subset of 41 police forces in England and Wales able to supply data, there were around 86,600 individuals released on pre-charge bail. Of these cases:
The Home Office is seeking to collect additional information from police forces on individuals released under investigation, without bail conditions, to provide a fuller picture than is currently available.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals arrested in England and Wales in possession of illegal substances were charged with possession with intent to supply, as opposed to the lesser offence of possession, in each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of arrests made by each police force in England and Wales for drug offences in each year.
However, it is not possible to separately identify those arrested specifically for possession with intent to supply illegal substances or for possession of an illegal substance.
Arrests data are published in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, the latest of which can be accessed here:
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban the sale of machetes and large knives with serrated or other edges that do not already come under the existing classification of zombie knives.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Keeping people safe is the Government’s top priority, including from violent crime involving the misuse of knives and other offensive weapons. This is why the law makes it an offence to carry a knife in public without good reason, makes it an offence to sell to under 18s and why a number of knives and offensive weapons, including zombie knives, are banned.
The Government does not currently have plans to ban any additional, specific types of knives, but we do keep the law under review and the Government will not hesitate to take action if needed. This is why we have strengthened the law on knives and other offensive weapons, through the Offensive Weapons Act 2019. The Act will make it an offence to possess certain offensive weapons in private, it will stop knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product will not be delivered to an under 18. The Act will also:
and
The Government also works with retailers to encourage responsible sales of knives. We have agreed a set of commitments with eighteen major high-street and online retailers to prevent the sale of knives to under-18s, which cover staff training, displays, and packaging. We are continuing to work with retailers to stop knives getting into the hands of young people.
We have also committed to introducing a new court order to target known knife carriers and make it easier for the police to stop and search those convicted of knife crime offences, to deter them from continuing to carry knives, and to make it more likely that those who persist in doing so will be caught, brought before the courts, and sent to prison.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total value of class A drugs seized in the UK for each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of class A and class B drug seizures in England and Wales made by the police, including the British Transport Police, and Border Force. These are published annually as official statistics and available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales
However, information on the total value of such drugs seized is not held.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total value of class B drugs seized in the UK in each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of class A and class B drug seizures in England and Wales made by the police, including the British Transport Police, and Border Force. These are published annually as official statistics and available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales
However, information on the total value of such drugs seized is not held.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bethell on 15 January (HL Deb, col 707), how much they have spent on trying to fix the glitch on the Police National Computer; and how many people are working on the problem.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is working to support ACRO to resolve the issue and find a technical fix which will be implemented as soon as possible.
Last year the UK sent over 30,000 conviction notifications to EU Member States and received over 16,000 from the EU.
This has led to many hundreds of criminals being brought to justice and ACRO are working urgently to resolve any outstanding alerts.