§ Mr. SternTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes are now known to his Department; and how many of these have been established in the last year.
§ Mr. John PattenThere are now some 64,000 neighbourhood watch schemes in England and Wales, with approximately 20,000 having been established in the last year. The scale of this increase is very encouraging and reflects the public's growing commitment to the cause of crime prevention.