Many constituents have shared their concerns with me about the rising levels of crime and anti-social behaviour. During a recent meeting with Thames Valley Police, we discussed that High Wycombe town centre will soon see an increased police presence.
At the national level, the Crime and Policing Bill returns to the House of Commons for consideration in its remaining stages. This Bill sits at the heart of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and Plan for Change. It will help tackle the crimes that matter most to communities but have been ignored for too long after 14 years of Tory dereliction on law and order.
The Government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill represents the biggest package of measures on crime and policing for decades, with 50 new laws to cut crime and make our streets safer. Labour’s comprehensive set of new measures will tackle antisocial behaviour, shop theft and street crime head on, giving the police and our communities new powers to take back town centres from thugs and thieves.
The Bill also includes measures to address the most serious violence and highest-harm offences such as knife crime, violence against women and girls, cybercrime, child sexual abuse, and terrorism. This Labour Government will take back our streets and town centres, restore respect for law and order, and give the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime.
Police will be given stronger powers to tackle mobile phone thefts – no longer needing a warrant to search premises where stolen items have been electronically located, speeding up investigations and increasing the chances of recovering stolen goods.
We will introduce Respect Orders to tackle the worst ASB offenders, and stamp out issues such as public drinking and drug use to ensure that our communities are free from harm and nuisance.
Police will be given new powers to immediately seize vehicles that cause havoc in our communities, allowing them to deal with the scourge of off-road bikes in public parks and dangerous e-scooters on pavements.
We will protect our high streets by ending the effective immunity for anyone caught shoplifting goods below £200 and introducing a new criminal offence to better protect retail workers from assault.