Violent crime down but Sutton MP says there's more to be done

4:10pm Saturday 25th October 2008

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Violent crime in Sutton has fallen, government figures revealed.

Statistics for Sutton show recorded violence against the person fell from 3,161 in 2005/06 to 2,989 in 2006/07, but nationally the numbers have doubled in the last ten years.

However Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam Paul Burstow said the House of Commons report proved the Government needed to do more to tackle knife crime.

Mr Burstow said the report, compiled by the Public Accounts Committee of which he is a member, found there was a lack of coordination between the Home Office and the bodies it set up to deal with serious violence and gang-related activity.

It found crime and disorder reduction partnerships did not have enough resources to understand and combat violence in communities.

The result was a lack of information on why young people join gangs and what can be done to deter them.

Mr Burstow said: “Today’s report uncovers a bureaucratic mess which is hampering not helping the efforts to make our streets safer.

“The Home Office established up these partnerships in order to tackle violence in local communities, but the reality is that they do not have the resources to carry this out, so we have a huge rise in knife possession.’’