To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the levels of early-hours crime and street violence in England and Wales in each year since November 2005; and what were the figures in 1995 to 1999 inclusive. [HL6185]

The information requested is not collected centrally. The police-recorded data supplied to the Home office are in aggregated form and it is not possible to determine the time at which individual offences occur. In addition, it is not possible to determine centrally the location of recorded offences of violence.

Latest findings from the 2008-09 British Crime Survey show that the overall number of violent incidents decreased by 10 per cent between 2005-06 and 2008-09 from 2,349,000 to 2,114,000. However, the proportion of violent incidents that occurred at night (between midnight and 6 am) has increased from 12 per cent in 2005-06 to 19 per cent in 2008-09.

Evidence from Home Office research in specific locations such as an evaluation of the impact of the licensing Act of 2004 and an evaluation of Tackling Alcohol-Related Street Crime in Cardiff and Cardiff Bay in 2003 indicate that incidences of violent crime and disorder are more prevalent between 11 pm and 3 am. The evaluation of the licensing Act found that some crime was displaced into the small hours of the morning, but overall levels of crime associated with the night-time economy remained largely unchanged, and there was a small fall in serious crimes of violence.