§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of neighbourhood watch schemes in the Easington constituency in the years 1986, 1987 and 1988; and what steps he is taking to promote and extend the scheme.
§ Mr. John PattenThere were seven neighbourhood watch schemes in Easington in 1986, 17 schemes in 1987 and 30 schemes in 1988.
The national crime prevention organisation Crime Concern was set up in 1988, to stimulate local crime prevention activity, including neighbourhood watch: its recent work has included a conference on the management of neighbourhood watch schemes held on 30 November and attended by over 70 representatives of police forces. The launch in October of phase 3 of the Home Office's crime prevention publicity campaign saw the publication of the third edition of the handbook "Practical Ways to Crack Crime", which contains a wealth of advice on neighbourhood watch.