§ 22. Martin LintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on(a) Operating Safer Streets and (b) the Robbery Reduction Initiative as they affect London, with particular reference to the London borough of Wandsworth. [470831
§ Mr. DenhamThe first phase of Operation Safer Streets, the Metropolitan police's anti-street crime initiative in London's nine worst affected boroughs, ran for eight weeks from 4 February until the end of March. The force statistics show that the operation has had a marked impact on street crime offences. In week eight of the operation, street crime allegations in the nine boroughs were 21 per cent. down on the corresponding week last year. The second phase began on 15 April and will run until March 2003. It will be extended to include a further six London boroughs, including Wandsworth.
The Metropolitan police force area is one of the 10 areas included in the Government's wider street crime initiative, which involves a concerted response to street crime across all the criminal justice and social agencies.