asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the computer system implemented on 1 January by the statistics branch of the Metropolitan Police to store data concerning young offenders, including details of their homes, families and histories of truancy.

I understand from the Commissioner that statistics of juveniles arrested or reported for criminal offences, which are now kept manually, are being transferred to a computer, and that this work should be completed by 1 March. These statistics—which do not identify named individuals—enable the Commissioner to monitor the work of the juvenile bureaux, and they contribute to research and to consideration of force policy on juvenile offenders.