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Crime (London)

My right hon. Friend puts the issue well. Let me read out some facts, so that we can get them on the record. Police numbers in London are at record levels. Since 2000, there has been an increase of more than 10,000, which has been made possible by the Government's and the Mayor of London's investment. The figure of 35,000 is made up of more than 31,000 police officers and more than 4,000 PCSOs. The Mayor's budget for 2008-09 includes an additional 1,000 police officers. Let me also put it on the record that those are the figures from the Metropolitan Police Service. They are the figures that the Opposition seemed to traduce, when they said that there were not real figures or figures to be trusted. I will tell you what, Mr. Deputy Speaker, if I am going to trust any figures, I am going to trust the Metropolitan Police Service's figures on recorded crime. It was interesting that the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) would not go back to 2002-03, but used 1998-99 as his baseline. The reason is that there was a different way of counting crime in 1998-99. Let me go through the figures, just as the Metropolitan Police Service has, from 2002-03 to this year, which are all counted in exactly the same way, so that the people of London know exactly what is happening. Between 2002-03 and this year, there was a more than 20 per cent. reduction in crime. There has been a reduction in the total number of murders in London since 2002-03 of 17.5 per cent, and a reduction in the total number of knife-enabled offences of more than 30 per cent. during that period. The year-on-year figures from the Metropolitan Police Service also show considerable reductions in crime. We need to ensure that the people of London know about these reductions, not because we want to be complacent or because the job is done, but because we want to move forward on the basis of facts. My hon. Friend the Member for Eltham took great delight in reading out what Tory-controlled authorities in London were saying about crime in their local newsletters and on their websites, and I do not blame him for doing so. What they are saying is totally at odds with what those on the Opposition Front Bench have suggested. Let me defend some of those Tory borough councils in London for what they have said about crime. Tory-controlled Barnet council says that it has seen a 17.5 per cent. reduction in crime, while Enfield council's website states:"““The number of offences in Enfield has fallen by nearly 10 per cent.””" Many other Tory-controlled authorities right across the city are congratulating themselves on falls in crime and telling their residents about them. That is completely at odds with the picture that the Tory mayoral candidate and the Opposition Front Bench spokespeople are trying to paint. Why have we seen this reduction in crime? Why have we seen such an increase in confidence among people in London in this regard? It is partly a result of the introduction of the safer neighbourhood teams, which were introduced with the wholehearted support of the Mayor. Indeed, with his support, they were introduced a year earlier in London than in much of the rest of the country. We now have visible, accessible, responsive policing on our streets in all 600 wards in London. Let us also be clear that a key part of the safer neighbourhood teams in each and every ward is played by the police community support officers, whose introduction was opposed by the Conservatives, including the hon. Member for Henley. Alongside the safer neighbourhood teams, we need to see tough enforcement of the law, and we have indeed seen special police operations taking place alongside the work of the teams. Let us also remember that tough enforcement of the law includes tough sentencing. One of the toughest sentences that the people of London support is the minimum sentence for the possession of unauthorised firearms, which was also opposed by the hon. Member for Henley. While we are talking about the need for tough enforcement, let us also reflect on what contributes to the reduction in crime, and on what makes a difference. Alongside the tough enforcement approach and the safer neighbourhood teams comes partnership and prevention. If we are to continue to reduce crime and to tackle gun and knife crime, we also need to invest in youth services and the partnerships involved in them. The Mayor of London has led the way in supporting initiatives across the city to prevent young people in particular from becoming involved in crime. He has been particularly involved in trying to divert young people away from crime in the first place. With the Government, he has set up a new £75 million youth offer, which will make a considerable difference in tackling these issues in our communities across London. It will give support to the parents and young people who need it, and it will develop the services that are so important if we are to continue to bear down on—