Extra article, w/c 27th July 2009. Stephen Ladyman MP

According to opinion polls, crime is a key concern for the public. More than that, the public’s perception is that the streets are less safe than they were and that crime is on the rise. The figures show a different story.

The British Crime Survey takes account of the public’s actual experience of crime rather than just relying just on reported crime. It is generally acknowledged to be the most accurate way of measuring what is really happening in our society.

The survey shows that since 1997 crime has fallen by 36%, domestic burglary is down by 54% and even the category of crime that worries people most, violent crime, is down by 41%. In addition, vehicle related thefts are down 57% and crime against the person is down 28%.

This has not happened by accident. There are 14,000 more police on our streets now than in 1997 alongside 16,000 Community Support Officers and nationally there are now 3,600 Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

And this investment is paying off here too. Kent police figures show all crime down in East Kent by 9.2% in the last year alone and violence is also down by 5.1%.

Of course, we cannot be complacent. Crime may be falling but the opinion polls show that the perception of crime is not, so we need to do more to make people feel safe as well as making them safer. We should also not forget that one crime is one too many and so we must continue to support our police with the resources they need to do the job whilst helping them make better use of their time by ensuring they are not distracted by unnecessary paper work.

But what we must not do is turn the clock back. Between 1979 and 1997, when we had a Conservative Government, crime doubled, violent crime went up by 168% and the number of convictions fell by a third! If we go back to Tory policies on police resources and crime we will also go back to Tory levels of crime too.