Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced new legislation designed to combat anti-social behavior. He has also said the Government will increase public accountability at all levels of the police.
New national standards for policing will include commitments that:
* neighbourhood police should spend at least 80 per cent of their time on the beat
* non-emergency inquiries will receive a response within 24 hours
* monthly beat meetings will be held to discuss priorities
His speech also announced new legislation designed to improve Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) including:
* clear national standards for ASBOs
* a faster application processes
* tougher action when orders are breached.
Victims of the worst cases of anti-social behaviour will also be given a “guarantee of protection”, including support obtaining an injunction and legal fees paid where an agency has let them down.
The PM said:
People need to know that we are serious, and that we are succeeding against everything from anti-social behaviour to knife crime to organised crime, and that we are right there on the side of those who play by the rules. And that those who don’t, will be dealt with, because that is what will keep our communities strong in the future.
Rebutting the concept of “a broken society”, the Prime Minister claimed that risk of crime is at its lowest level since 1981, but he said government must “understand the fear of crime”.
Speaking at Reading Town Hall on March 1, he said:
A society in which not just crime and anti-social behaviour but also child poverty, illiteracy, and ill health have all fallen cannot be called a broken society.
For the speech in full visit –
