NEW figures show there were 1,196 violent attacks on people in Fenland and that violent crime has risen 74 per cent in the past ten years, says MP Malcolm Moss. Blair and Brown promised us that they would be tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime

NEW figures show there were 1,196 violent attacks on people in Fenland and that violent crime has risen 74 per cent in the past ten years, says MP Malcolm Moss.

"Blair and Brown promised us that they would be 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime,'" said Mr Moss, MP for NE Cambs.

"Instead, their incompetence and broken promises have left us with higher crime rates than ever before."

Mr Moss blamed, in part, police for having to spend more time on paperwork rather than policing the beat.

"At the same time, local people are increasingly frustrated with our criminal justice system," he said. "Putting the law back on the side of local people and giving the police more support are crucial steps to reduce the high levels of crime across the country."

He promised Tory policies on crime were "radical and bold" and would restore confidence in Britain's 'broken' criminal justice system.

Mr Moss said an incoming Tory Government would:

• Give Fenlanders greater protection if they have to defend themselves against intruders in their homes, or if they stop a crime being committed in the street.

• Create 15 new rape crisis centres across the country, and give all existing rape crisis centres stable, long-term funding.

• Grant Fenland District Council powers to fight "booze-fuelled antisocial behaviour and stop supermarkets selling alcohol at below cost-price which is destroying law-abiding local pubs and fuelling low-level crime."

• Publish street-by-street crime statistics online every month so people know the real level of crime in their neighbourhood.

&bull: Make it clear that anyone caught carrying a knife in a public place can expect to be prosecuted and sent to prison.

FACT FILE

The smallest rise in violence crimes against people were recorded in East Cambridgeshire where numbers rose from 413 in 1990-2000 to 561 in 2008-09, a rise of 36 per cent.

Biggest increase was in South Cambridgeshire where the recent total of 782 compared to 400 in 1999-2000, a rise of 96 per cent.

In Huntingdonshire crimes rose by 61 per cent in the same period- up from 917 to 1,478.