THE success of a crackdown on street crime in London could be behind a rise in “Yardie” related gun crime in Kent and Medway.

Elizabeth Howe, the chief crown prosecutor for Kent, said criminal gangs who had previously been active in London and other urban areas were moving into new areas because of the success of the Government’s Street Crime Initiative.

Ms Howe was giving evidence to a cross-party committee of county councillors, which is conducting an inquiry into drugs use and misuse in the county.

Asked about the apparent infiltration of Yardies – organised Jamaican gangs - into Medway and Kent, she said: “I think they are creeping down [from London]. I have heard it said that the effect of the street crime initiative is that they are being diverted to other geographical areas.”

There was also evidence from other forces such as the West Midlands that gangs were committing other types of offences which were now less serious in terms of sentencing, she added.

The Government introduced its crackdown in April last year after figures pointed to a sharp rise in street robbery offences.

The initiative was targeted mainly in London and figures released in January this year pointed to some success, with a ten per cent fall in robberies and more than a third fewer victims over the first six months.

Ms Howe told KCC’s NHS Health Scrutiny committee that the increasing us of cocaine and the growth of “crack houses” was a developing problem in Kent although joint operations with Kent Police had been “very effective” in leading to recent successful firearm prosecutions.

The committee, which has been taking evidence from a range of witnesses and experts, is expected to issue its report this summer.