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Policing in London

The hon. Lady makes a point about cannabis, but where crime has fallen, it is not just in relation to drugs. It relates to all forms of crime. As regards cannabis, most of the police and the safer neighbourhood teams still take it very seriously. We do not have a Lib Dem policy of not arresting people or not putting them away for illegal use of drugs. That is not what has had an effect. What has had a real effect—and I think it is really important to acknowledge it—are the safer neighbourhoods teams. There is still further to go, but those teams are having a profound effect in ensuring that crime and the fear of crime is reduced. The hon. Member Lady should acknowledge that in some of her interventions. I would like to conclude by talking about some of the key achievements in my Brent constituency. We have had an early warning system for retailers, who have invested in an alert box. More than 100 of them have been purchased and they are working very well. Many of my hon. Friends have talked about the importance of early interventions with young people, and we have set up a Brent partnership unit, working together with the rugby football union and Kingsbury school sports partnership, to deliver coaching sessions as well as crime prevention messages in many schools, including Preston Park, Fryent and Kingsbury Green primary schools. We had a particular problem in the constituency with knife and gun crime, so the community has worked hard with the police to tackle it. Not Another Drop was launched in 2001 and has been extremely successful in getting the message across. A march takes place and is growing bigger every year. There is also the Don’t Trigger campaign, which is organising a march from Ealing hospital to Acton park on 12 May. It deals with all forms of violent crime and how to work together to stop it. There are some very good people in Brent. For example, there is Raj Kohli, the chief inspector involved in the partnership, who works to build up good relationships within the community. Then there is Patsy Hopkins who, along with other mothers, has lost a young child to violent crime, and speaks passionately to young people about how to combat crime and work towards safer streets and a safer society. Bethan West has done a lot of work with Not Another Drop and is now moving on to other things: she has done some incredible work in the constituency. The Labour Government have been relentless in their funding of the police over the past 10 years and have adopted policies to ensure that Britain is kept safe. Maria Arpa was awarded £750,000 by the Chancellor to run a mediation project with the police, involving people who have committed crimes. It will have a powerful effect on crime reduction in all areas. The Government have invested more than ever before in new services and new facilities. For example, they invested in the youth opportunities fund and the youth capital fund, which my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush (Mr. Slaughter) spoke about. They mean that young people have activities to do after school. In a debate on crime in London, it is important to recognise that 10 years of Labour investment has helped Britain become a safer place.