Hundreds of town centres to see more police patrols in crime ‘blitz'
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said residents and businesses have a 'right to feel safe in their towns' but the last government left a 'surge' in crime.
In a statement, she said: 'It's time to turn this round, that's why I have called on police forces and councils alike to work together to deliver a summer blitz on town centre crime to send a clear message to those people who bring misery to our towns that their crimes will no longer go unpunished.'
She said part of the neighbourhood policing guarantee includes investment of £200 million this year to begin the recruitment of thousands of new neighbourhood policing officers.
Speaking to members of policing and business sectors at Derby County Football Club's Pride Park Stadium on Thursday, Ms Cooper said every area will have 'named contactable officers for residents and businesses to be able to turn to'.
Ms Cooper said: 'It's one of the most important things to restore confidence in policing is to have those neighbourhood police back on the beat dealing with those very crimes that cause so much problem.
'And if we don't see the police on the streets, then confidence is lost. And I think that is what's happened for far too long.
'If shoppers don't feel safe, they will stay home. People will just stay out of our town centres, and that heart of community will be lost.
'I think these kinds of crimes have been dismissed for too long because crime erodes the social fabric that binds us together and keeps communities strong.
'We've made town centres the very heart of the safer streets mission for this summer, taking back town centres from thugs and thieves – at the heart of that is rebuilding neighbourhood policing.'
Half a million shoplifting offences in England and Wales were recorded by police last year, up 20% from 2023.
In a statement, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'We are on the side of local businesses, and our plan for change is helping create the right conditions for our great British high streets to thrive.
'The safer streets summer initiative will play a vital role in achieving this by keeping footfall high, communities and those that work in them safe, and the economy growing.'
Anthony Hemmerdinger, managing director of Boots, said: 'Retail theft alongside intimidation and abuse of our team members is unacceptable, so we welcome this additional support from Government and the police to strengthen shop worker protection.'
Police and crime commissioners across England and Wales have developed local action plans with police, including in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Humberside, Devon and Cornwall.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economist
28 minutes ago
- Economist
Macron will beat Trump to London
When Sir Keir Starmer sat down with Donald Trump at the White House in February, the British prime minister handed over a letter from King Charles III inviting the American president for a state visit to Britain. On July 8th a foreign president will indeed arrive in Britain for the first state visit the king has hosted this year. Yet the guest will be not Mr Trump but President Emmanuel Macron of France.
Telegraph
37 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Banning Palestine Action ‘considered months before RAF break-in'
Banning Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was considered by the Government months before the break-in at RAF Brize Norton, the High Court has heard. Huda Ammori, the group's co-founder, has sought to bring a legal challenge against the Home Office because of Yvette Cooper's decision to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act 2000. Justice Martin Chamberlain was asked at the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday to grant 'interim relief' to Ms Ammori, which would temporarily block the legislation from coming into effect at midnight on Saturday. During the hearing, he noted that an assessment on whether to ban the group had been made as early as March and 'preceded' the incident at the RAF base. He said: 'The process or assessment on the basis of which that proscription decision was made preceded that, in March.' Another hearing to decide whether Ms Ammori will be allowed to challenge the Home Secretary's decision is expected to be held later in July. If the law comes into effect as planned, it would make membership of or support for the action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The move was announced after two RAF Voyager planes were damaged at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20. Palestine Action promptly claimed responsibility for the incident, which police said caused around £7 million worth of damage. Arguing on behalf of Palestine Action, Raza Husain KC, said: '[This is] the first time in our history that a direct action civil disobedience group, which does not advocate violence, has been sought to be proscribed as terrorists.' He described the decision to proscribe the group as an 'ill-considered, discriminatory authoritarian abuse of statutory power'. Speaking for Ms Ammori, he said she had been inspired to create the organisation by the 'long tradition of direct action' in the UK, 'from the suffragettes to Iraq War activists'. Mr Husain added that while people may disagree with Palestine Action's methods, which include criminal damage, trespass and burglary, but to say they are concerned in terrorism was 'an abuse of language'. 'The Secretary of State has still not sufficiently articulated or evidenced a national security reason that proscription should be brought into effect now,' he continued. Ms Cooper publicly announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, calling the vandalism of the two planes 'disgraceful' and saying the group had a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage'. MPs in the House of Commons voted 385 to 26 – a majority of 359 – in favour of proscribing the group on Wednesday before the House of Lords supported the move without a vote on Thursday. Four people – Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22 – have all been charged in connection with the incident. They appeared at Westminster magistrates' court on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK and conspiracy to commit criminal damage under the Criminal Law Act 1977. They were remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey on July 18. Counter-Terrorism Policing South East said on Wednesday that a 41-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender had been released on bail until Sept 19 and a 23-year-old man who was arrested has been released without charge.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Channel crossing migrants should face prosecution if child dies
Yvette Cooper told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was 'totally appalling' that children were being 'crushed to death on these overcrowded boats, and yet the boat still continues to the UK'. She added: 'Everybody who is arriving on a boat where a child's life has been lost, frankly, should be facing prosecution, either in the UK or in France.' The Government has already included a new offence of 'endangering life at sea' in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill currently making its way through Parliament. Ms Cooper has previously said this would allow the authorities to act against people 'involved in behaviour that puts others at risk of serious injury or death, such as physical aggression, intimidation, or rejecting rescue attempts'. But on Friday, she appeared to go further by suggesting even getting on an overcrowded boat could result in prosecution. She said: 'If you've got a boat where we've seen all of those people all climb on board that boat, they are putting everybody else's lives at risk.' Crossings have increased in the past year, reaching 20,600 by July 2, a rise of 52% compared with the same period in 2024. Some 15 children died trying to cross the Channel last year, prompting charity Project Play to warn that conditions were becoming 'more dangerous' for young people. Advocacy co-ordinator Kate O'Neill, based in northern France, blamed policies aimed at preventing crossings for the increasing risk. She told the PA news agency: 'Ultimately the children we're meeting every day are not safe. 'They're exposed to a level of violence, whether it's they are directly victims of it or the witness. 'We're ultimately at all times putting out fires… the underlying issue is these policies of border securitisation… that are creating more and more barriers to child safety and child protection.' She said there was hope when the Labour Government took office a year ago that there would be some improvement, adding: 'This is not at all what we've seen. 'They continued to make conditions more difficult and more dangerous.' She said: 'The smash-the-gangs narrative is not effective and it's harmful because ultimately the only way to put the gangs out of business is to cut the need for them.' Meanwhile, Ms O'Neill said French police were already intervening in crossing attempts in shallow waters despite the changes to the rules to allow this having not yet come into force. She said: 'This is not a new tactic… it's something that has been happening for a long time in Calais and surrounding areas. 'My feeling is that this is increasing based on the number of testimonies we're receiving from children and their families recently. 'It's really dangerous because the children often are in the middle of the boats.' On Friday, the Home Secretary welcomed reports that French police were intervening in French waters to prevent crossings, and said she had been 'working very closely with the French interior minister' to ensure the rules were changed 'as swiftly a possible'. Ms Cooper also declined to confirm reports the UK was looking at a 'one in, one out' policy that would see people who had crossed the Channel returned to Europe in exchange for asylum seekers with connections to Britain. Asked about the policy, she would only tell Sky News that ministers were 'looking at a range of different issues' and 'different ways of doing returns'. A boat carrying migrants could be seen off the coast of Gravelines in northern France on Friday morning as a family and dog walkers enjoyed the sunny weather on the beach. A French authority boat followed the dinghy closely as it travelled along the coast passing big ships such as a DFDS ferry, and a French border control helicopter flew overhead.
