§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held on measures to reduce violent crimes against the person and street crimes in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [148648]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeI have held no specific consultations on measures to reduce violent crimes against the person and street crimes in Wales alone. The measures which the Government are taking to tackle violent crime across England and Wales are set out in "Fighting violent crime together an action plan", published in January, based on a wide range of consultation and partnership working across the country. Our strategy is based on improving support for victims, better policing, more effective punishment and tackling the causes of crime.
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§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to take to reduce violent crimes against the person and street crimes in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [148647]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Government are committed to reducing violent crime and the fear of violent crime and to ensuring that individuals and communities are protected and feel safe. We are working in partnership with the police and other agencies, both in England and Wales, on a wide range of ways of tackling violent crime, underpinned by our overall strategy, "Fighting violent crime together: an action plan", published in January.
The Government are putting in place the investment to make sure that the police have the resources they need. Under the crime fighting fund, the Welsh police forces have been allocated 422 additional recruits over and above previous plans, over a three-year period from 2000 to 2003.
Under the Government's Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, the Welsh police forces are working with other agencies to put in place a number of initiatives to tackle violent crime, notably alcohol-related violence.
Last year, the Home Office awarded the South Wales Constabulary a grant of £498,000 to the Cardiff street violence reduction project, with the aim of reducing alcohol-related violence. This will involve collecting more comprehensive and better quality information as to the essence of street violence in Cardiff gathered from a variety of agencies including the accident and emergency department at the hospital; acting on information either co-operatively or punitively so as to control environments; establishing a licensees' forum; establishing an awareness campaign; and providing victims with referral to community health care services and victim support.