To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the recently published crime statistics in north Wales.

In 1987 the increase in recorded crime in north Wales was greater than in England and Wales as a whole, but the number of offences per 100,000 population was well below the national average. The increase in the clear-up rate from 32 to 43 per cent. is encouraging. We also welcome the above-average fall in domestic burglaries, and the increase in the number of these offences cleared up following a growth in neighbourhood watch and other crime prevention activities.