§ 30. Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to help fight crime in the north of England; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenOur strategy for crime prevention applies to all parts of England and Wales. Police manpower and resources have been substantially increased and the largest ever national crime prevention publicity campaign has been launched. Two places chosen for our successful five towns local crime prevention initiative were in the north of England, at Bolton and north Tyneside. Using the valuable experience gained from this initiative, we have launched our safer cities programme. Our intention is to establish that programme in 20 high crime areas over a three-year period. One of the first two safer city areas will be Bradford. Local authorities and local agencies in other northern cities will also be invited to take part in this programme. With Home Office encouragement, inner city task forces and city action teams in the north of England are supporting and encouraging crime prevention work in their areas. Under the auspices of the joint Home Office/community programme crime prevention initiative, a number of schemes in the north of England are involved in a range of crime prevention activity including, for example, lock fitting, security patrols and support for victim support schemes.