§ Ms Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he is giving to crime prevention advice to shoppers using supermarket car parks and to the proprietors of supermarkets about improved security. [37527]
§ Mr. MacleanThe Home Department takes the lead in the provision of crime prevention advice. To date, 1,750,000 copies of the revised handbook "Your Practical Guide to Crime Prevention", have been distributed. Although the guide does not contain advice aimed specifically at users of supermarket car parks, much of the advice is relevant.
Advice for motorists using car parks is included in a new Home Office car crime prevention leaflet which I shall be launching at the Earls Court motor show next week.
We are also encouraging all owners and operators of car parks to improve security on site. To this end, we have endorsed the Association of Chief Police Officers' secured car parks scheme under which awards are made to car parks meeting strict design criteria. These criteria are currently being re-examined with a view to achieving greater take-up of the scheme.
Advice for proprietors of supermarkets is available in the form of a series of crime prevention booklets produced by the retail action group, a sub-group which was set up in 1993 by the original National Board for Crime Prevention. In January 1994, advice on the prevention of robbery and of burglary was published; advice on the prevention of violence to staff, customer theft and external fraud will be published shortly.