Labour to restore neighbourhood policing to fight epidemic of anti-social behaviour under the Conservative

Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds MP will tomorrow (Tuesday) deliver his speech to Labour Party Conference and announce the next Labour Government will “bring back neighbourhood policing” to tackle the epidemic of anti-social behaviour currently blighting communities across the country.

Accusing the Conservatives of being “soft on crime and soft on causes on crime”, Thomas-Symonds will announce Labour’s new plans for increased visible policing with “eyes, ears and boots on the ground”:

• An increased police presence in communities with the national rollout of Police Hubs, each with its own Neighbourhood Prevention Team to ensure anti-social behaviour and other crimes in the communities are tackled quickly.
• Police Hubs will be located in visible and accessible places in communities, providing a place the public can go to talk to the police and other agencies in person about their concerns in an area, as well as providing a visible reassurance to residents who live there.

• Neighbourhood Prevention Teams will bring together police, community support officers, youth workers and local authority staff to tackle anti-social behaviour at source. They will be connected into a next generation neighbourhood watch which will bring people together to share advice and information about their area through online networks and backed with a tough approach to closing down drug dens.
• Labour would also undertake a major recruitment drive to increase the number of Special Constables, whose numbers have fallen sharply since 2010.
• And introduce a new Child Exploitation Register for those convicted of modern slavery offences linked to county lines drug dealing.

Since 2010 the Conservatives have slashed police funding by £1.6bn and cut thousands of police from our streets. The number of people who say they never see a police officer on foot patrol has doubled. This has contributed to a surge in antisocial behaviour with analysis of the crime survey suggesting 13.6 million adults experienced antisocial behaviour in the last year.

Labour’s plan will put police back on our streets, with stronger powers to keep our communities safe.

On Labour’s plans, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, is expected to say:

“In Tory Britain, people say you never see police on the beat any more. That school children feel afraid at the bus stop… That people feel unsafe going out after dark. This is the price of years of Tory cuts to neighbourhood policing.”

“With me as Home Secretary – if there is trouble on your street Labour will make sure that someone is there. You will see officers on the beat.

“In every community where people are frightened and afraid there will be a new police hub, and new neighbourhood prevention teams which bring together police, community support officers, youth workers and local authority staff to tackle anti-social behaviour at source.”

And on the Conservatives’ record, Thomas-Symonds is expected to say:

“The safety of our communities is at risk from this Government. The reality is that the Conservatives have failed on crime.

“This Home Secretary likes to talk tough but she never delivers. She says she backs our frontline police officers, and staff but then insults them with a pay freeze. It’s no surprise that she has lost the confidence of 130,000 rank and file officers represented by the Police Federation.

“The Conservatives are the party of crime and disorder. They are soft on crime and soft on the causes of crime.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• In England and Wales since the Conservatives entered Government in 2010:

• The number of people who say they never see a police officer on foot patrol has doubled. - ONS Annual Supplementary tables, Table S10,
• There are 8,400 fewer police officers. Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are down by 7,600. Police staff have been cut by 7,500. Special constable numbers have fallen by 6,300 - Home Office
• ‘Starmer brands Tories ‘party of crime and disorder’, as Labour research finds £1.6bn hole in police budgets’ - The Independent, July 2021

• Every Police Hub will be supported by a new Neighbourhood Prevention Team (NPTs) made up of neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs, youth workers and local authority enforcement officers. These teams would prioritise being visible on patrols and would pursue serial perpetrators of ASB or low-level crime, as well as dealing with visible signs of disorder such as broken windows, graffiti, fly-tipping, or drug dealing. These teams will also support victims of anti-social behaviour.

• NPTs would be backed up with stronger powers for police and local authorities to shut down premises being used for drug dealing or consumption, as well as action to remove the barriers which prevent existing powers being used. Drugs are one of the leading causes of anti-social behaviour.
• Labour’s next generation neighbourhood watch would harness the potential of modern technologies – such as video doorbells, dashcams and whatsapp - and encourage a virtual approach to sharing advice and gathering intelligence in local communities, alongside an increased community policing presence. Communities are stronger where people look out for each other, and the principles of neighbourhood watch applied to the online space can improve community safety and resilience.
• This year alone police recorded over 2 million incidents of antisocial behaviour - the highest in seven years. Offences range from people using and dealing drugs, fly-tipping, vandalism and threatening behaviour. The Telephone Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) estimates that 29% of adults personally witnessed or experienced anti-social behaviour in their area in the last 12 months. By applying that percentage to the latest population estimate for adults in England and Wales, that suggest 13.6m adults experienced ASB in the last year.

ONS, Crime in England and Wales YE Mar ’21, 22 July 2021
ONS, Mid-year population estimates 2020, 25 June 2021

• Labour is calling on the Government to encourage greater use of Community Triggers to deliver quicker action on anti-social behaviour

• Labour will toughen up the current closure powers in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, including

• Increase the length of time a closure notice could be issued for from an initial 48 hours to 72 hours.
• Increase the length of time a closure order can be granted from an initial minimum three months to a minimum of six months.
• We would then extend the ability of an extension for six months up to 12 months.

• Labour is calling for those convicted of modern slavery offences related to county lines drug dealing to be added to a new register modelled on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register (ViSOR). This will help monitor offenders who have a proven history of grooming children into committing criminal acts, as well as deter further attempts at exploitation by increasing the stigma around such offending. Labour is also calling for greater use of Modern Slavery legislation to prosecute those exploiting children though county lines so that further restrictions could be placed through existing Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders on sentencing.
• Labour has tabled a Victims’ Bill to give victims of persistent, unresolved anti-social behaviour the same rights that the Labour Party is proposing to enshrine for victims of crime. These rights for victims include right to regular information, right for victims to make a personal statement to be read out at court and the right for access to special measures at court including video link where appropriate. There would be proposed sanctions for police forces and other bodies who fail to meet the new requirements. - Labour Press, March 2021;

• In July 2021, the Police Federation of England and Wales - the staff association for police constables, sergeants and inspectors - announced that it no longer had confidence in the Home Secretary, Priti Patel. - PFEW, July 2021
• The proposals will be funded from Labour’s proposed fund to tackle antisocial behaviour. This is funded by scrapping Boris Johnson’s vanity yacht, which will cost at least £200m to build and £83m to run over the course of a parliament