BLUNKETT'S BLITZ

THE Avon and Somerset police force area is set to be the focus ofa crackdown on street crime which will see more bobbies on the beatin a bid to make towns and cities safer.

Home Secretary David Blunkett today promised to reclaim thestreets by launching a blitz on muggers, carjackers andsnatchthieves.

The Robbery Reduction Initiative, to begin in April, will aim tobring the police, courts and other agencies together to focus effortsin crime blackspots.

Avon and Somerset will be among 10 police force areas taking partin the scheme to increase the detection rate for street robberies andspeeding up the time from arrest to sentence.

In addition, Victim Support is to be given an extra GBP3 millionnationwide - making GBP28 million in total - to help victims as wellas witnesses involved in court proceedings - a move warmly welcomedby the voluntary service in the Bristol area.

Pat Hurley, spokeswoman for Victim Support in the region, said shewould welcome any increase in funding and support for the service.

She said: "I think this is a very good idea. Almost half of ourdaily referrals are taken up with street robberies and a few yearsago it would have been around 20 per cent. That in itself shows youjust how much the number of street crimes has increased and howimportant this sort of initiative could prove to be.

"These days people's cars and homes are well protected againsttheft and so individuals are now being targeted in the street bycriminals instead.

"One particularly worrying increase has been the recent spate ofrobberies where the criminals have used mountain bikes or even mopedsto get away.

"Many of these criminals are desperate and they are using knifesand weapons and victims are at risk of losing their lives."

She said a 12 per cent increase in resources in the force areawould be very helpful but added the service also needed the help ofmore volunteers.

The initiative comes against a backdrop of soaring street crime,which rose by 13 per cent in 20002001 and has increased further thisyear, despite a general decline in crime overall.

Initially focusing on mugging, it will swiftly expand to targetillegally-held weapons and drug dealing, which Mr Blunkett describedas the "drivers" of street crime.

Mr Blunkett said: "We want more police visible on the streets,immediate action to speed the perpetrators through the system, actionto protect victims and witnesses and to ensure that those who areremanded or convicted don't walk freely on our streets."

Police will target robbery hotspots, both by undercover methodsand by putting more officers on the streets.

Young muggers - including first-time offenders - will befasttracked from arrest to sentence.

And extra administrative support will be given to robbery cases.

Anyone interested in helping out people who have found themselvesmade the victim of crime should contact Victim Support on 963 1114.