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Written question asked by Dai Davies (Independent (affiliation)) on Thursday, 10 July 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 July 2008. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Thursday, 17 July 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Police Deaths on Duty

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) social workers were unlawfully killed while carrying out their duties in each year since 1997.
Answer

Available data are from the Homicide Index and relate to offences currently recorded as homicides in England and Wales as at 12 November 2007. This is in the following table.

Offences currently recorded¹ as homicide where victim was killed in the course of their employment, by selected occupations, England and Wales, 1997-98 to 2006-07², ³
Number
Victim occupation
Year recorded² Police officer Social worker
1997-98 1 0
1998-99 0 1
1999-2000 2 0
2000-01 3 0
2001-02 0 0
2002-03 4 0
2003-04 2 0
2004-05 1 0
2005-06 1 0
2006-07 1 1
¹ As at 12 November 2007; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.
² Offences are shown according to the year in which police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.
³ Data for 2007-08 are not yet published.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
479 c606W;479 c604W; 219007
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Death Homicide Social services Social workers Police deaths on duty
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk