Blair: Labour will reduce crime by 15%

Thursday, 21 April 2005 12:00 AM

Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that Labour would cut crime by 15 per cent by 2008, if elected for a third term.

He said that "on any basis crime has fallen" but accepted that "for many people in many communities it doesn't feel like that".

And he pledged to introduce a Violent Crime Reduction Bill to tackle gun and knife crime within weeks of a general election, and to consult on banning replica and imitation hand guns.

Mr Blair's comments came before the latest official crime figures showed a nine per cent jump in recorded violent crime in England and Wales in the three months to December 2004. But, a separate study from the British Crime Survey suggested that violent crime was down by 10 per cent.

Speaking at the Labour Party's morning press conference, Mr Blair said that said law and order was "a huge issue" for people and promised that a future Labour government would be tough.

He said that speaking to the public had led him to believe a visible police presence reduced people's fear, so the party would ensure a "visible, uniformed presence out on the streets".

An additional 20,000 community support officers would support the record numbers of police already serving communities, he added.

Labour said this would be backed by legislation, such as the anti-social behaviour policy, drugs legislation, and legislation on binge drinking, and would also work on providing activities for young people.

Although the Prime Minister recognised the Government had a "long way to go" in dealing with crime he paid tribute to the work of the police.

"The police come in for a lot of criticism but actually they do a superb job," he said, pointing to the record numbers of police in Britain.

Voters could choose between the Tories who pledged to increase resources "without the faintest idea where the money comes from", or they could back the "properly costed policies" of Labour that were "backed up by legislation", he said.

Liberal Democrat crime spokesman Mark Oaten said the promises "rang hollow" when compared with the crime statistics.

Mr Oaten said: "The binge drinking culture is to blame, and in eight years Labour has done little about it.

"Having police on the streets deters crime and reduces the fear of crime. That is why Liberal Democrats will fund 10,000 more police than Labour.

"Cutting re-offending rates is just as important. For all Labour's tough talk, they have failed to prevent known offenders from repeating their crimes. We will tackle the causes as well as the symptoms of crime."

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