Priti Patel reclaims Conservative’s place as the party of law and order with crackdown on drugs gangs and increase in TASERs

In her speech to the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester today (Tuesday 1 October), the Home Secretary Priti Patel re-established the Conservatives as the party of law and order with a series of policy announcements that will protect police officers, give them more resources to crack down on county lines drugs gangs and make our neighbourhoods safer.

Along with recruiting 20,000 new police officers, expanding stop and search powers and drawing up a new Police Covenant, the Home Secretary announced that the government will:

• Give Chief Constables the power and resources to dramatically increase the number of officers carrying TASERs to keep themselves and the public safe.

A £10 million ringfenced fund will be set up to equip up to 60% of police officers with TASERs, should Chief Constables wish. The announcement comes amid a rash of assaults on police officers and will help keep them safe, as they keep the public safe. 94% of police officers agree with the government that more officers should have TASERs

• Ramp up activity to tackle county lines drug gangs, including investment in technology to examine number plate data and the creation of a dedicated team within with British Transport Police.

£20 million will be invested in identifying and dismantling county lines drugs gangs which exploit children and the vulnerable.

National County Lines Coordination Centre will be expanded to enable better intelligence sharing and targeting.

A dedicated BTP unit with visible and undercover officers will operate at railway stations and disrupt the movement of drugs and people involved in gangs. 

Operation Chaptelgate will be expanded, enabling more seizures of cash and proceeds of crime related to County Lines, in turn increasing the resources available to the police.

Victims of gangs will receive more support as the number of specialist caseworkers is expanded.

• Create a Safer Streets Fund to invest in crime prevention measures including CCTV and street lighting

£10 million will be made available to Police and Crime Commissioners to invest in evidence based, preventative measures to tackle burglaries, thefts and shoplifting in crime hotspots. Funding will be focused on prevention measures like CCTV, street lighting, alleygating and home security. There is strong evidence that these measures work – alleygating, when part of a package of burglary reduction initiatives, is associated with a 43% reduction in the number of burglaries.

Priti Patel said:

“We are coming after the thugs, gangs, and criminals who make law-abiding people’s lives a misery. I have the backs of all of the police officers who put their lives on the line day in, day out to keep us all safe and am giving them the tools to do their job. We are delivering on the public’s priorities while Jeremy Corbyn and Dianne Abbott side with the criminals.

The Home Secretary stressed the need to address the public’s priorities like crime, or risk the total loss of faith in politics and democracy.

The next election will present voters with a very clear choice as to who they want to be responsible for law and order in Britain. Priti Patel, who backs the police and law-abiding majority or Dianne Abbott who backs the criminal minority

ENDS

Notes to editors

The government is already:

• ·         Hiring 20,000 additional police officers to keep our streets safe. The unprecedented drive to deliver 20,000 more police officers over the next three years has begun with the launch of a national recruitment campaign, overseen by a new National Policing Board and backed by £750 million next year.^[1]

• ·         Making it simpler for the police to use emergency stop and search powers to take weapons off our streets. We have empowered more than 8,000 police officers to authorise enhanced stop and search powers, as part of our efforts to crack down on violent crime.^[2]