§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking against street robbery; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenThe police give high priority to dealing with street robbery. In 1988 robbery, including mugging, fell by 4 per cent. Certain high-crime urban areas will benefit from our safer cities programme, and we have produced a crime prevention handbook which contains advice on how to reduce the risk of being attacked; nearly 2.5 million copies have been distributed.