Published 27 March 2023
Last updated 6 July 2023 — See all updates
UPDATE 6 JULY 2023
We’re making more progress on my plan to tackle anti-social
behaviour. Here’s what that means:
More police in high crime areas
We’re increasing the police presence in areas with high rates of
anti-social behaviour. Resources will be focused on locations
like public transport and parks, helping to deter crimes from
being committed in the first place.
Immediate punishment for vandals and drug-users
We’re making criminals pay for their crimes as soon as 48 hours
after they’re been committed. Local police forces and victims get
to decide on the punishment, but it should be visible to the
public and, importantly, the local community will also get a say
in what the punishment should be.
Offenders could be made to wash cars, clean up graffiti or
litter-pick, whilst wearing high-vis vests.
These plans will be extended to all areas in England and Wales
from 2024.
More money for better crime prevention
We’re giving an extra £60 million - that’s £1.4 million for every
police force in the country - to have better crime prevention
measures like CCTV, street lighting or community projects that
combat anti-social behaviour. This will help prevent more
burglaries and make streets safer for women and girls
Ridding our streets of chewing gum litter
More than 50 councils across the UK will receive £1.2 million to
remove discarded chewing gum from our streets and prevent it from
being littered again.
“I made a promise in January that we will work tirelessly to
crack down on anti-social behaviour. For too long, people have
put up with it ruining their neighbourhoods.
These are not minor crimes. They disrupt people’s daily lives,
hold businesses back and erode the sense of safety and community
that brings people together.
That’s why I’m bringing forward a new plan to crack down on this
behaviour once and for all - so that everyone can feel proud of
where they live.
This is how the new measures will affect you.
I’m bringing in tougher punishments for
criminals
Those responsible for offences such as vandalism or graffitiing
will start cleaning up their crimes as quickly as possible,
aiming for offenders to start work within 48 hours of receiving
an order.
Victims and affected communities will also get a say in deciding
what type of punishment or consequences offenders should face,
alongside input from local police and crime commissioners.
We are banning nitrous oxide
We will ban nitrous oxide, also called laughing gas, putting an
end to litter and intimidation in our parks so people feel safer.
We will test more criminals for illegal drugs
The police will also now be able to drug test criminals who take
illegal drugs like ecstasy and methamphetamine, and we will drug
test offenders who have committed a wider range of crimes, like
violence against women and girls, serious violence, and
anti-social behaviour.
We’re introducing tougher fines for litter, graffiti and
fly-tipping
We are increasing he upper limit on fines for littering and
graffitiing from £150 to £500 and fines for fly-tipping will
increase from £400 to £1,000.
We will also support councils to hand out more of these fines to
disrespectful offenders, with councils keeping these fines to
reinvest in clean up and enforcement.
We’re making evictions of anti-social tenants
easier
We are aiming to make it quicker for private landlords to evict
anti-social tenants after serving notice, as well as broaden the
disruptive and harmful activities that can lead to eviction.
We will also strengthen rules so previous anti-social behaviour
perpetrators are deprioritised for new council housing.
By establishing a zero-tolerance approach where offenders know
they will face the full consequences of their actions – we can
prevent more of these crimes from happening in the first place.
I am determined to tackle these crimes with the urgency they
deserve, restoring your confidence that these will be quickly and
visibly punished.”
Prime Minister
