§ 46. Mr. McLoughlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to reduce theft in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdOur crime prevention handbook "Practical Ways to Crack Crime" contains advice on how the risk of theft of all kinds can be reduced. Measures that can be taken to prevent theft from shops were put forward by a working group of the Home Office standing committee on crime prevention in its 1986 report; the working group on car crime, which reported last year, made a number of recommendations about the prevention of theft of and from cars, which are now being examined. The number of theft offences recorded in England and Wales during 1988 was 1,931,000, nearly 6 per cent. fewer than in 1987.