§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the principal achievements of his Department since June 1987.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThe number of police posts in England and Wales increased by 4,285, bringing the total to 127,155. The number of civilians supporting the police increased by 4,699 to 45,405, and since 1986–87 expenditure on the police has increased by 19.5 per cent. in real terms. These increases have been accompanied by action to ensure that the police use their resources efficiently and to enhance their capacity to deal with crime of all kinds, including that with an international dimension.
Sixteen safer cities projects have been set up in inner-city areas supporting over 850 initiatives with the objective of reducing crime, lessening the fear of crime and creating conditions in which economic enterprise and community life can flourish. Crime Concern, an independent body which seeks to encourage and facilitate local crime prevention activity and to draw the business sector into crime prevention, has been established. Advice on crime prevention has been issued to local authorities, other relevant agencies and to the public, with over 3 million copies of the crime prevention handbook distributed. The standing conference on crime prevention meets annually to discuss and promote new crime prevention ideas.
496WMy Department has continued to give the highest priority to tackling drug misuse. The London world ministerial drug summit reaffirmed our commitment to be at the forefront, both at home and abroad, of efforts to combat drug misuse. Reciprocal agreements with seven further countries on confiscation of the proceeds of drug trafficking have been concluded, bringing the total to 19. The first five local teams set up under the drug prevention initiative to strengthen community resistance to drug misuse have now started work.
Legislation has been passed to enable the United Kingdom to ratify the United Nations convention against the illicit traffic in drugs; to enhance the control of firearms; to strengthen the country's defences against terrorism; to increase the powers available to the courts for dealing with football hooligans; to improve our ability to give effect to our policy of firm but fair immigration control; to create a new and more open and competitive framework for the licensing and regulation of independent radio and television services, leading to greater choice for viewers and listeners while maintaining proper safeguards for programme quality and standards; to remove outdated restrictions on licensing laws; to enable the United Kingdom to participate more effectively in the international fight against crime, including a major reform of the extradition law; to make provision for courts to order the confiscation of the proceeds of profitable crime; to provide for unduly lenient sentences to be reviewed; to create a statutory right for the victims of crime to receive compensation; to tighten the law on possession of knives and to ban the sale of offensive weapons which have no legitimate use; to strengthen the jury system; to reform the law on official secrets by replacing section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 with provisions protecting just six classes of official information; and to put the security service on a statutory basis, with the appointment of a commissioner and provision for complaints to be made to an independent tribunal. Legislation has been passed to encourage key Hong Kong personnel and their families to remain there by giving them the assurance of British citizenship in order to help them maintain the future stability and prosperity of the territory.
Since the beginning of 1987 five new prisons have been opened, providing some 2,500 places, and construction has begun at 13 other sites, which will provide nearly 8,000 additional prison places. By the end of March 1991 nearly 3,000 more places will also have been provided at existing establishments. The Home Office has embarked on a major programme to improve existing prisons. At the beginning of 1987 about 45 per cent. of prison places had access to night sanitation, but by April this year 60 per cent. of all places are expected to have access. Conversion of the remaining places is a high priority.