The Home Office has announced a ‘Winter of Action’. The authorities say this builds on the Safer Streets Summer scheme, which ran in town centres from July to the end of September; and resulted in over 16,000 arrests and fines, mostly for shop theft and anti-social behaviour.
The summer also saw targeted visible patrols up almost 20 per cent compared to the previous year, largely in town centres, according to the Home Office. The authorities quote a IPSOS national survey, claiming that anti-social behaviour witnessed or experienced in town centres reduced over the summer. In the small print of the survey, however, the pollsters noted that the results were not specific to the summer scheme’s town centres areas and so the pollsters were not able to directly attribute any changes in people’s responses to activity delivered under the ‘Safer Streets Summer’.
Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “Shoplifting and anti-social behaviour are tearing at the fabric of our communities. This winter we are launching a crime-fighting blitz with police patrolling our high streets across the country. This is part of our wider plans to fight crime with 3,000 more police on the beat by the spring to catch criminals and make our communities safe.”
Police are to target knife crime in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Peterborough, and London, such as at city centres and transport hubs, the Home Office added.
Comment
For the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) Joint Leads on Local Policing, Chris Nelson (PCC for Gloucestershire) and Matt Storey (PCC for Cleveland) said PCCs and deputy mayors (who have political charge of the police in cities such as Manchester) are committed to driving efforts to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour so that neighbourhoods and communities can thrive. They said: “The government’s Winter of Action will build on the success of the Safer Streets Summer initiative with a particular focus on tackling retail crime and persistent anti-social behaviour, and offending linked to the night-time economy and male violence against women and girls. We are determined to deliver continued change for our local communities so, with our local police forces and other partners, PCCs and deputy mayors will be working harder than ever during these busier, festive months to keep people safe.”
Labour recently announced plans to abolish PCCs in 2028, when they are next due to be elected.
Photo by Mark Rowe: Christmas market in Trafalgar Square.
