Labour to demand audits of crimes

Crime-cutting targets would be set in every area of the country under a Labour government, Jack Straw, the party's home affairs spokesman, announced yesterday, writes Fran Abrams.

Mr Straw said police and local authorities would be forced to set the targets, which would be costed and published along with their success rates.

In a speech to a Local Government Association conference on crime, he said each area would have a statutory duty to develop a community safety plan highlighting the types of crime which needed tackling locally. Labour would also demand "crime audits" to provide details of local crime problems, "multi-agency neighbourhood nuisance teams" to tackle problems and new powers to tackle the problem of children under 10 on the streets. Community safety orders would give police and local authorities powers to tackle anti-social neighbours.