Street crime statement by Chair, Toby Harris

91/02
12 September 2002

The Prime Minister’s street crime initiative has rightly focused attention on a problem that has caused fear among our communities.

Senior Ministerial involvement forced progress in certain areas and made sure that different government departments could work together successfully.

Here in London, the Met’s Safer Streets operation launched in February has targeted those 15 boroughs where street crime has been a real worry.

Since February there has been a really meaningful reduction in street crime across London, where something like half of all street crimes take place.

But because we have seen a steady fall in this type of crime doesn’t mean we can sit back and relax, especially when the spotlight shifts to a different problem. Indeed, in some parts of the country there is still an uphill battle to control mugging and robberies.

Our police officers are doing a great job. They daily perform an outstanding service as they combat street crime, often putting themselves in personal danger. But I think we all know that they cannot solve this problem alone.

The only way of continuing to cut down street crime is for all agencies to work in partnership so that our approach is joined-up and not disjointed, as it has been all too frequently in the past.

Yes, sweeping changes to the criminal justice system are to be welcomed, but we also have to look at the wider picture, such as the problem of persistent young offenders, and the need to divert our young people away from crime.

We must go beyond the headlines and the sound bites to work together on real and sustainable solutions that have tangible results.

No one is going to believe we’ve been successful simply because we publish a set of monthly statistics. These are a useful management tool, but people will only believe street crime has been beaten when they and their children feel safe outside their homes, or walking down their streets to the shops.

That is why the Metropolitan Police Authority will put all its efforts into working with the police and our partners to reduce street crime and the fear of crime, and make our streets safer. We may be moving in the right direction, but there is still much more for us to do.

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