§ Ms. Glenda JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to introduce the crime prevention measures recommended by the committee chaired by James Morgan.
§ Mr. Jack[pursuant to his reply, 18 June 1992, c. 645]: My right hon. and learned Friend and I have carefully considered the recommendations in the report and the views of those organisations that submitted comments on it. I welcome the report's endorsement of the partnership approach to crime prevention, which is now the cornerstone of the Government's policy. Also accepted are its general findings on the valuable contributions that each of the local partners can and do make to creating safer communities. However, I have concluded that the future development of effective crime prevention partnership groups and schemes does not depend on the report's recommendation that local authorities are given a statutory crime prevention role. In forming this view, I am mindful of not adding new burdens to local authorities and the fact that a great deal in this field can be done within the existing statutory framework. In this respect, the Government's view is that the lead on crime prevention should, for the most part, be determined by local circumstances. Nor am I persuaded that the appointment of local authority crime prevention co-ordinators requires central funding.
I am grateful to the Morgan working group for the effort it invested in its task. Its report, and earlier Home Office guidance, has stimulated the growth of local crime prevention action groups across the country.
I have placed in the Library of the House a copy of the Department's response to the recommendations in the report which are directed at the Home Office.