Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made a speech to launch the Labour Government’s ‘Plan for Change’, at Pinewood Studios, yesterday. One of six ‘national missions’ set out by the PM was ‘safer streets‘.
Sir Keir said: “More police on the beat … Stamping out anti-social behaviour in every community … Because nobody should feel insecure on the streets they call home.” In more detail, he pointed to a ‘Neighbourhood Policing guarantee’ that ‘will deliver 13,000 extra neighbourhood police. Visible on the beat … Cracking down on anti-social behaviour … A named, contactable officer in every community … A relief for millions of people scared to walk their streets.”
As for paying for extra police, Sir Keir said that pledge is ‘only made possible because we are matching investment with reform. Standardising procurement … Streamlining specialist capabilities like digital forensics … Ending the madness of each of our 43 forces purchasing their own cars and uniforms.”
Comment
Richard Hyde, Senior Researcher at the think-tank the Social Market Foundation said: “We know that we are woefully under-policed, but 13,000 more bobbies on the ground does not bring policing levels in England and Wales anywhere close to our European peers. That would require at least tripling this target, as our research has shown. While addressing anti-social behaviour is certainly important, a big part of the challenge for policing at present and going forward is not just threats on the ground – but in our private, digital spheres. Fraud remains the most dominant crime, and tackling it will require tech specialists and cybercrime experts, not just more bobbies on the beat.”
For more about Labour’s ‘Safer Streets’, including knife crime and VAWG (violence against women and girls) visit https://www.gov.uk/missions/safer-streets.
Stalking
Meanwhile, the Home Office has said that national standards on stalking perpetrator programmes will be published; and it will review stalking legislation. It said that the Government has committed to accepting or partially accepting all the recommendations arising from a super-complaint on stalking dating from 2022 by the personal protection charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and other campaigners demanding better support for victims of such crimes. The Trust has called for ‘a real commitment to preventing the numerous failures encountered by stalking victims’.
