Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Stephen Crabb (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 27 June 2005 on behalf of the Home Office.

Antisocial Behaviour

Question: I thank the Minister for her reply. Will she join me in congratulating our team of police community support officers in Pembrokeshire on the excellent start that they have made in their new role? Will she also recognise, however, that due to the fact that those teams of officers are not on duty after 10 o'clock at night, and are not deployed to deal with confrontational incidents, they cannot provide the answer to alcohol-related crime? What we need in Pembrokeshire is more police officers with full powers of arrest out on the streets at weekends to tackle the 52 per cent. increase in violent crime that has occurred over the past 12 months.

Answer: I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will recognise that his police force, like police forces right across the country, has had a significant increase in investment over the past few years. We now have 13,000 extra police officers on our streets. We have never said that police community support officers could provide the complete answer, but I am delighted that he feels that the work that those officers are doing in his constituency is making a real difference and providing reassurance on the streets. We will have dedicated, visible police teams—including CSOs—right across England and Wales over the next couple of years.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 435 c1004-5
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Anti-social behaviour Anti-social behaviour orders Preseli Pembrokeshire
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk