Sport and culture scheme brings cut in crime
By Marie Woolf for The Independent

Tomorrow's career criminals might be deterred from a life of law-breaking if they were given more access to culture and sport as children, a government project has indicated.

Robberies, car thefts and muggings have fallen steeply in areas where tearaways as young as nine have been taught art, dance, football or drama outside school hours, as part of a programme to tackle the rise in street crime.

The results of the lottery-funded scheme, which makes cultural and sporting activities available to children aged 9 to 17 on deprived estates, have far exceeded expectations. The Splash Extra scheme, part of the Government's street crime and robbery initiative, has led to an overall reduction in the crime rate of 5 per cent on average.

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