§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has in respect of safeguarding homes in Devon and Cornwall against the rise in property crime forecast by his Department. [102683]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe £250 million Crime Reduction Programme that was launched in July 1998 and the Crime Reduction Strategy that we announced last week will benefit homes in Devon and Cornwall as well as elsewhere in England and Wales.
An important strand of the programme is the Reducing Burglary Initiative, under which more than £50 million will be used to support anti-burglary projects over three years covering some two million households in 500 areas of England and Wales with high levels of domestic burglary. As well as helping to reduce burglary locally, the initiative will provide practical evidence which will benefit all local crime and disorder reduction partnerships seeking to improve their anti-burglary strategies. Of the 63 first-round strategic development projects already underway, two are based in Devon and Cornwall: one in 277W central Plymouth and the other in Tormohun (Torbay). Three second-round bids have been received so far from Devon and Cornwall and a decision on these bids will be taken in January.
A further £153 million will be invested over the next three years under the Closed Circuit Television Initiative and some projects will be funded in due course in Devon and Cornwall.
We have also recently launched the Property Crime Reduction Action Team which we expect to make a real impact on property crime by bringing together partners in central and local government, police, fire service and key players in the insurance and commercial sectors.