Rape

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of rape were reported to the police in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007. (188569)

The requested information is given in the table. Since 1997, recorded crime statistics have been published on a financial year basis, therefore available figures have been provided for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.

*Number of rape offences recorded by the police in England and Wales from 2004-05 to 2006-07*
Financial year	Rape of a female	Rape of a male	Total rape
2004-05¹	12,869	1,144	14,013
2005-06	13,327	1,116	14,443
2006-07	12,630	1,150	13,780
¹ The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced in May 2004 altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences.

Volume 472: debated on Wednesday 27 February 2008