CRIME - KEY ACHIEVEMENTS since 1997

 

British Crime Survey Crime Since 1997:    

 

Overall crime down 35%       

Domestic Burglary down 55%

Vehicle theft down 51%

Violent crime down 34% 

 

Results:

 

· Record police numbers – up more than 14,000 since 1997

 

· Over 7,800 Community Support Officers, with 16,000 planned by April 2007

 

· Over 7,350 ASBO’s and nearly 300,000 Penalty Notices for Disorder issued

 

· Over 500 crack houses closed

 

· Nearly 4m fewer victims of crime than in 1997 (6m fewer than in 1995)

 

· Levels of worry about crime down a third since 2000 (stable compared with  2004/05)

          

· Over 300,000 more offences brought to justice between March ’02-March ‘06

          

· Tougher sentencing – e.g. 5 year minimum sentence introduced for unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm.

          

· DNA database – police matching 3,000 offences a month. Direct links to offenders have tripled; 6,000 in 1998 compared to over 20,000 last year.

          

· On average close to £1 million crime cash seized every week

 

· Put in place the biggest ever expansion of CCTV – investing over £150m

          

· 6,000 more prison places since ‘97 with 8,000 extra places planned by 2012

 

Under the Tories (recorded crime 1979-1997)

 

· Crime doubled, car crime doubled, burglary doubled

· Violent crime by 170% (recorded) and 51% (BCS), robbery rose by 400%

· The chance of being a victim of violent crime trebled

· Convictions fell by a third

· Police numbers fell every year from 1993

 

“For the period as a whole from 1979 to 1997 crime doubled under the Tories. It is an accurate figure - it did. It more than doubled between 1979 and 1993.” (Michael Howard, Hansard, 24/5/00)

email:  stephenladymanmp@souththanetlabour.org.uk

South Thanet delivery since 1997