MICHAEL Mates has called for a rethink on policing after new crime figures released by the Home Office revealed what the MP described as an "alarming rise" in violent crime in his area. The East Hampshire MP said he was concerned that "Whitehall red tape" was stopping police from patrolling the streets and catching criminals. And Mr Mates said the new licensing laws needed to be re-examined to discover whether or not they had led to the fall in crime argued by the government. He said government crime figures for East Hampshire released on Thursday comparing 2005 -2006 with last year showed that violence against people was up 39 per cent to 1,611 cases. Burglaries had increased by 66 per cent to 270 cases, and there were 508 thefts from vehicles, a rise of 16 per cent. Although the number of cases of robbery in East Hampshire was low, at 18 last year it was an increase of 29 per cent. There were 90 sexual offence cases, down four per cent on the previous year, and 142 thefts of vehicles, a drop of 20 per cent. And Mr Mates has called for reforms to improve the "effectiveness of policing and the criminal justice system." He said: "The new statistics for 2006/07 for East Hampshire, while they show welcome falls in the number of car thefts and sexual offences, also show an alarming rise in violent crime – up 39 per cent. Burglary has risen by a shocking 66 per cent and thefts from cars by 16 per cent. "I am sure that local police and community support officers are working hard, but they are being held back by Whitehall red tape that prevents them from patrolling the streets and catching criminals. "We have also had fewer community support officers allocated to us than previously promised by the government." Mr Mates called on the government to do more to tackle the scourge of drugs which, he said, "fuels other crime, ruins communities and destroys lives". "We need more research to find out whether – as some experts now argue – the new licensing hours have not led to the fall in crime the government expected," he added. "The problem of violent crime is compounded by the crisis in our prisons. With offenders being released early or avoiding jail completely, criminals are not deterred from committing violent crime, nor do they receive proper rehabilitation." Mr Mates said people in East Hampshire were lucky to live in a realively low crime area, adding: "But these new figures show that there is still much to do to get crime in our communities under control." Commenting on Mr Mates' call for a review of policing East Hampshire, the district commander, Chief Inspector Phil Kedge, said:"There has always been an anomaly with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership boundaries and police boundaries not being co-terminus within East Hampshire. "For the East Hampshire policing command area of Alton, Whitehill and Petersfield, I can only reinforce our performance against official Home Office targets showing that against the average of the last three years East Hampshire has seen a 32 per cent reduction in overall crime, a 27 per cent reduction in vehicle crime, a four-and-a-half per cent reduction in burglary, and a 13.5 per cent reduction in violence. "First quarter performance figures for this year will be published in due course, but they do show so far, compared to last year, an additional 7.2 per cent reduction in all crime. "These are the figures against which local police are held to account and, as such, we are recognised as one of the highest performing districts in the force. "We are committed to continuing to improve with officers and the extended policing teams engaging with local communities with tremendous effort and dedication. "A further measure of this is the almost unprecedented numbers of letters that I receive on a monthly basis from residents, local businesses and the voluntary sector around the good work local officers are currently doing."
