HC Deb 18 January 1999 vol 323 cc552-4
4. Mr. Andrew Reed (Loughborough)

When he last met representatives from the car industry to discuss measures to reduce car crime. [64348]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Paul Boateng)

I met the vehicle crime reduction action team, on which the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Retail Motor Industry Federation are represented, on 17 November 1998. I discussed the initiatives that they are driving forward to achieve a 30 per cent. reduction in vehicle crime over the next five years—a target announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 29 September 1998.

Mr. Reed

As someone who has been the victim of car crime five times in the past four years, I can sympathise with the hundreds of thousands who have suffered. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is a general perception that the motor industry has not taken the issue seriously enough? What specific measures has he asked the industry to take to assist in that 30 per cent. reduction in crime, which we would all welcome?

Mr. Boateng

Vehicle crime of the kind of which my hon. Friend has, sadly, been the victim, accounts for losses of about £3 billion a year and is a really serious problem. I am glad to say that we are now working in close partnership with the motor industry, not least in relation to design and structural issues about the glazing of the side and rear of motor vehicles, where modifications can make it that much more difficult for the criminal to get in, and in relation to the retail trade and the problem of secondhand cars, because secondhand cars are more likely to be the target of vehicle crime than those that are bought new, which may account for my hon. Friend's difficulty. There are lessons for all of us, and we are working in partnership with the motor industry to ensure that we learn them.

Mr. Edward Gamier (Harborough)

Many people who commit car crimes do so to fund their drug habit. Will the Minister bear in mind the activities of Rotary throughout this country in seeking to educate young people away from drug abuse and crime, and ensure that his colleagues in the Home Office join Rotary in promoting that excellent initiative?

Mr. Boateng

I warmly welcome the hon. and learned Gentleman's reference to the contribution that the voluntary sector can make in partnerships that are designed to reduce the impact of drugs in our society. The Government, in partnership with the voluntary sector and with health authorities throughout the country, are spending an additional £217 million on the problem. It is of great assistance to have that Government intervention supplemented by the activities of organisations such as Rotary. Such partnerships are the best way to combat crime and its causes, and Rotary and other organisations are to be congratulated on their contribution.

Mr. Eddie O'Hara (Knowsley, South)

Is my hon. Friend aware that, on Merseyside, car crime and other forms of serious crime are at their lowest levels for 18 years? Will he therefore join me in condemning the BBC 2 documentary programme "Mersey Blues", which last Wednesday described crime as a career choice on Merseyside? Does he not agree that such cheap remarks are an insult to the people of Merseyside, that they do an injustice to the Merseyside police and that they undermine those of us who are trying to regenerate the area by attracting inward investment?

Mr. Boateng

The fearfulness and alarm that can be generated by programmes such as the one that my hon. Friend has described give rise to concern, not least on Merseyside. Recently, I met the chief constable and the chair of the police authority there, and I know that they believe that the programme does not represent the reality of policing on Merseyside. I am glad to endorse the product of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998: it has led to some very effective partnerships in the area which are reducing crime. All those engaged in those partnerships prove once more how valuable they are in preventing and reducing crime.