§ 17. Mr. Matesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is taking to follow up the seminar held at No. 10 Downing street on crime prevention.
§ Mr. HurdI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and Border (Mr. Maclean) earlier today.
§ 40. Mr. Fallonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the crime prevention initiatives being taken by his Department.
§ 62. Mr. Sackvilleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps he is taking to promote crime prevention.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe recent crime prevention seminar chaired by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister 291W resulted in agreement on a range of initiatives by industry, commerce and Government which will be followed up at a seminar to be chaired by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary in the summer. They include: a British Standard for car security which will be prepared by the British Standards Institution with the help of the motor manufacturers; the insurance industry will consider what scope there is to encourage policy holders to improve the security of their homes; advisory packages on security in inner city households and commercial premises will be produced; and studies will be established and completed urgently on crime on the London Underground, security on new residential estates and violence to bus crews and to health service staff.
Work is progressing well on the five local crime prevention projects and the national community programme crime prevention initiative announced last autumn. Following encouraging results in London and the Midlands, the "Magpies" television and press crime prevention campaign has been extended to the north of England for a six-week period from 11 February.
§ 43. Mr. Maclennanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held with local authorities on crime prevention.
§ Mr. Giles ShawLocal authority associations are represented on the Home Office standing conference on crime prevention. There is also regular consultation with individual authorities on crime prevention including the development of the five local crime prevention projects and the national community programme crime prevention initiative announced last autumn. The crime prevention unit in the Home Office in collaboration with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Association of Chief Police Officers, has gathered information on good local crime prevention practice which it is planned to disseminate to local authorities.
§ 45. Mr. Sedgemoreasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will establish a fund providing pump priming finance to selected local schemes involving the community in crime prevention.
§ Mr. Giles ShawFunds are already available under the crime prevention initiative under the community programme as well as through the urban programme and private sponsorship. In addition my right hon. Friend has made funds available to provide co-ordinators for the five local crime prevention projects which he announced last October.
§ 48. Mrs. Roeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress made in establishing crime prevention projects with his Department's funding in the five towns selected for this experiment.
§ Mr. Giles ShawLocal co-ordinators have been selected in four of the areas, and the local steering committees will shortly be meeting in each area to decide what measures should be taken. The police, local statutory and voluntary agencies, and the private sector are all playing their part. The projects have generated much local interest.
§ 51. Miss Boothroydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for crime prevention schemes within the Sandwell area.
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§ Mr. Giles ShawAlthough my right hon. Friend has no specific plans to introduce crime prevention schemes in the Sandwell area, the chief constable of West Midlands gives a high priority to crime prevention in his force strategy. There are 23 neighbourhood watch schemes in operation, an active crime prevention panel, and a number of new crime prevention initiatives. For example, the police and the district council are exploring the possibility of sending out crime prevention campaign literature with rate demands; the crime prevention panel is working with the press to obtain a regular crime prevention feature in the local newspaper; a conference on security in the offices of building societies and post offices was held on 18 February; and a traders early warning system operates in the area.
§ 59. Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to finance crime prevention schemes on Merseyside.
§ Mr. Giles ShawNo. As part of the expansion of the community programme, however, a substantial number of places are now available for local crime prevention projects. I understand that three such schemes have been approved in Merseyside, two of which are already in operation. Furthermore, funding for crime prevention projects continues to be available through the urban programme.
§ Mr. Thurnhamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new measures he is proposing to reduce crime committed by young people; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorOur aim is to ensure that the police and the courts have adequate powers to deal with crime, including crime committed by young people, and we are considering a number of specific proposals for stengthening courts' powers to deal with young offenders. The two major crime prevention measures that my right hon. Friend announced last autumn—the establishment of local crime prevention initiatives supported by the Home Office and the inclusion of crime prevention projects in the community programme—are relevant to crimes committed by the young; and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science is also considering a proposal to support schemes in schools to combat juvenile crime.