§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to encourage business participation in crime and disorder reduction partnerships. [172428]
§ Ms BlearsWe fully recognise the importance of business participation in the work of crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs) and we have taken steps in a number of ways to encourage this.
Firstly, companies and retail bodies are named under section 5(3) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as invitees to participate in CDRP audits which are currently under way.
We have also appointed 10 regional business crime reduction advisers who are currently engaged in a mapping exercise that will pull together data on how CDRPs across the country are prioritising business crime in their strategies. The advisers will work with the CDRPs to promote ways of including business crime activities in their strategies.
A new toolkit on audits and strategies has been developed for CDRPs on the Crime Reduction website and a section on consulting on the findings of the audit will be available shortly highlighting the importance of consulting businesses during this process.
608WFinally, one of the aims of the Action Against Business Crime (AABC) group is to strengthen the links between businesses and CDRPs, further reinforcing the importance of CDRPs and business working together.
§ David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the figures for crime and disorder reduction partnerships were for(a) violence against the person, (b) sex offences, (c) robbery, (d) burglary, (e) theft of a motor vehicle, (f) theft from a vehicle and (g) total crime in each year since 1999 to 2000. [170373]
§ Ms BlearsRecorded crime statistics at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) level for the six offence groups mentioned are available on a financial year basis from 1999–2000. There are currently 376 CDRPs in England and Wales.
CDRP figures for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 were published in July 2001 (Table 10 of Statistical Bulletin 12/01 'England and Wales, 12 months to March 2002') and can be accessed via the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at the following address: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hosb1201.pdf
CDRP figures for 2001–02 and 2002–03 can be found on the same website at the following address: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb703supl.xls
The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) was introduced across England and Wales in April 2002. Some police forces adopted the standard prior to this date. Broadly, the NCRS had the effect of increasing the number of crimes recorded by the police. Therefore, following the introduction of the standard, numbers of recorded crimes are not directly comparable with previous years.
The new Home Office website www.crimestatistics.org.uk/tool/contains quarterly data for the 2002–03 financial year at CDRP level for a wide range of offences within the Recorded Crime series.