Latest news with #Asbos
Telegraph
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Put bobbies on the beat or lose cash, Starmer tells police forces
Police forces will have to guarantee extra patrols of bobbies on the beat at 'peak' times or lose their additional government cash, Sir Keir Starmer has said. On Friday, the Prime Minister will unveil details of Labour's neighbourhood policing guarantee, which will pledge that every community will have dedicated teams that will spend their time on the beat. From July, all forces will be expected to guarantee police patrols in town centres and other 'hotspot' areas at peak times, such as Friday and Saturday nights in town centres or market days in rural communities. A Labour source said the guarantee would be monitored by HM Inspectorate of Police, and that forces that failed to meet the commitment would lose the extra money. The Government has handed police in England and Wales £200 million to kick-start the recruitment of 13,000 more neighbourhood police to deliver the guarantee. As promised in the Labour manifesto, it will also see every neighbourhood having a named and contactable officer. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said: 'For too long, too many communities have been feeling abandoned as crime soared and neighbourhood police disappeared, even when local crimes like shop theft, street theft or blatant drug dealing rose sharply. 'It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our Plan for Change and neighbourhood policing guarantee, we will tackle this postcode lottery and restore policing to our communities.' Every force will have to appoint a senior officer to take responsibility for overseeing its efforts to combat anti-social behaviour, including drawing up an action plan. Neighbourhood officers will have to be trained to a set standard on how to tackle anti-social behaviour, based on courses from the College of Policing. They will have new powers under legislation currently before Parliament to deploy respect orders – a revamped form of Sir Tony Blair's Asbos – against adults for street drinking, drug use, harassment and intimidating behaviour. Officers will be able to ban them from town centres, high streets and local parks, and order them to undergo rehabilitation such as attending drug or alcohol treatment services or anger management courses. Offenders who breach the orders and return to the areas they have been banned from or fail to attend their treatment will face up to two years in jail, unlimited fines and community orders such as unpaid work and curfews. Policing 'postcode lottery' No 10 said the plans would mean that, for the first time in 15 years, communities would be able to hold forces to account and expect a minimum standard for solving crimes, including violence against women, knife offences, robbery and theft. A new police performance unit will aim to end the 'postcode lottery' in which some forces are up to six times more likely to charge an offender for a crime such as shoplifting than other constabularies. The unit will monitor time spent on the front line, collect force-level data by crime type to give a clearer picture of local performance and hold forces to account on key metrics, including call and incident response times. The public will be able to monitor the performance of their local force using a new online government tool. Where necessary, turnaround teams will be sent in to drive specific improvements. Sir Keir said: 'Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure on the streets they call home. It is just about the most basic right that anyone would expect. Yet for years, crimes such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour have wreaked havoc on our neighbourhoods. Policing has become reactive, picking up the pieces after crimes have occurred. 'Britain deserves better. It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our neighbourhood policing guarantee, we will end this postcode lottery, putting prevention back at the heart of policing and ensuring police are back on the streets.' However, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'Thanks to Labour's jobs tax, our police services face a £118 million shortfall, putting over 1,800 police jobs at risk. What's more, the Metropolitan Police are cutting 1,700 jobs and services, including moving officers out of schools, making our streets and schools less safe. 'The previous Conservative government delivered record police officers, but law and order is taking a backseat under Labour. They must urgently get a grip to ensure our police have the resources they need to cut crime and keep the British people safe.'
BBC News
11-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Corby MP Lee Barron urges members to back policing bill
An MP has urged fellow members to support a new policing bill, arguing that stronger law enforcement was essential to restoring public confidence and the second reading of the Crime and Policing Bill, the Labour MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, Lee Barron, outlined the need to rebuild the "profile, perception and presence" of policing in his February, he wrote to Northamptonshire's police chief calling for a fully operational police station in his constituency town to be reinstated. Barron told the House of Commons: "I'm not only urging members to back this bill, I'm leading the campaign to bring back a police station and a dedicated response unit to Corby. "The government has made sure the money is there to use, and there is consensus in the constituency for its need."The Crime and Policing Bill was unveiled in Parliament in February and is said to pull together measures set out in Labour's general election manifesto. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC the bill would address an "epidemic of street theft", including a rise in phone and bag snatching and shoplifting, and a "Respect Order" similar to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) would be introduced. Under the bill, police would have the power to enter and search a property without a court warrant for items such as a stolen mobile phone or items that can be electronically tracked. However, the Conservatives said the plans had been "copied and pasted from the last government's announcements". In Corby, police officers moved out of their Elizabeth Street station in 2017 and relocated to a hub at Corby Cube. Mr Barron said this move led to a decline in police visibility and a weakening of public trust, and stressed that restoring a local station was crucial in ensuring communities felt safe MP said 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers were set to be recruited nationwide, as part of the government's Northamptonshire's police funding will increase by more than £11m in 2025-26, bringing the total budget to £ Barron added: "What this bill does is it toughens up policing, so crime has real consequences again. "This bill is a key part of delivering this government's safer streets mission… now it's time for us to deliver."A spokesperson at Northamptonshire's police, fire and crime commissioner's office said they expected to review the plans for a new police station in Corby and consider the next steps by the end of March. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Sky News
25-02-2025
- Sky News
Police could search for stolen goods without warrant under new law
People who have tracked the location of their stolen mobile phones, laptops or bikes can expect swifter police action under new measures to be introduced to parliament today. In a drive to tackle street crimes, officers will no longer need a warrant to enter a premises where stolen items have been electronically located, such as through a phone-tracking app or Bluetooth. A police inspector will be able to sign off entry to a premises, rather than waiting for a judge or magistrate, in order to act during the "golden hour" just after a theft and increase the chances of a conviction, ministers said. It is one of a number of new powers in the Crime and Policing Bill, set to become law later this year, to address what the home secretary has called an "extremely frustrating" situation for victims of crime. "Snatch thefts" of mobile phones and bags have more than doubled in the past year, with more than 200 incidents a day in 2024, according to Home Office figures. Just 0.8% of these thefts led to a charge, despite some victims offering police evidence from tracking devices. 1:08 "For the last few years, our towns and cities have seen street theft shoot up, as organised gangs have been targeting mobile phones," Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said. "But it is extremely frustrating for victims when they can see exactly where their stolen phone has gone but nothing is done. That is why we are determined to give the police the powers they need to move fast to crack down on these crimes that are blighting our communities." The powers will also apply to police retrieving stolen vehicles, tools or tractors which are geolocated. It comes alongside tougher measures for people in possession of signal jammers used to steal keyless cars, which would be punishable by up to five years in prison The bill is a major update to existing crime legislation, with new measures to tackle knife crime, violence against women and girls, cyber crime, child sexual abuse and terrorism. However, there are questions about how officers will have the capacity to attend to thousands of cases of stolen phones, with the government still planning to recruit an extra 13,000 community police officers as promised at the election. Ministers have also proposed specific new criminal offences in the bill, for assaulting a shopworker - carrying a maximum sentence of six months; "cuckooing", in which a vulnerable person's home is used for illegal activities such as drug dealing; and climbing on war memorials. Other new crimes include spiking and using AI to produce child sexual abuse material. The bill enshrines respect orders, which are already being piloted, to restrict the movement of people who persistently cause harm in their communities - with those who breach them to be charged with a criminal offence. They are similar to the anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) introduced under the last Labour government but with requirements such as attending anger management courses as well as prohibitions. An impact assessment of how these new offences will affect the overstretched prisons crisis will not be immediately published. The home secretary said: "For too long communities have had to put up with rising town centre and street crime, and persistent antisocial behaviour, while neighbourhood police have been cut. "And for years too little has been done to tackle the most serious violence of all including knife crime and violence against women and children. "That is why the new Crime and Policing Bill is about taking back our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order, and giving the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime."
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Safer streets promise in government's flagship crime bill
Police will be given new powers targeting knife crime and anti-social behaviour and be allowed to search homes for stolen mobile phones without a warrant under major legislation to be unveiled in parliament. The Crime and Policing Bill is at the heart of what the government calls its "Safer Streets mission" and ministers want it to become law by the end of the year. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the bill would take back "our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order". The Conservatives say the plans have been "copied and pasted from the last government's announcements". Child exploitation and cuckooing to be criminal offences 'Not the ministry of fun': Troubling issues clatter onto Yvette Cooper's desk Will Keir Starmer be able to meet his pledges? The Crime and Policing Bill pulls together many measures set out in Labour's general election manifesto. But they come amid questions over whether police have the money to make the government's plan work. Ministers say that the enormous piece of legislation will target the crimes that communities want prioritised to make their areas feel safer and to bear down on behaviour that has gone unpunished. The bill includes the government's proposed "Respect Orders". These court-imposed restrictions will be similar to the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbo) developed in the Tony Blair era, then scrapped by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats coalition a decade ago. While Asbos were popular with voters, critics say the restrictions often became unworkable or poorly enforced. The proposed Respect Orders allow courts to impose restrictions on an individual's behaviour, just like an Asbo. But they would also be able to compel them to attend programmes such as addiction treatment or anger management courses to change their ways. Under the bill, police gain the power to enter and search a property without a court warrant for a stolen mobile phone, or other items that have been electronically tracked such as laptops or Bluetooth-tagged bikes. The power means that victims of mobile phone thefts, who are tracking their device while it is in the hands of a criminal, can call on police to recover it quickly. Other measures previously announced in the bill include: Scrapping a 2014 law that classified shoplifting of items worth under £200 as less serious than other retail theft - making them less of a priority for the police. An offence of assaulting a shop worker - also a Conservative commitment before the 2024 General Election. A new police power to seize without warning off-road bikes or e-scooters. A new offence of spiking drinks, separate to current assault laws. Giving judges the power to issue a Stalking Prevention Order against a suspect, even if they are not convicted of a crime. Another already announced power to be added as the Bill goes through Parliament will compel online retailers to alert police to bulk or suspicious sales of knives. The Home Office says the bill's aims will be delivered by recruiting 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers by 2029 - and the department has pledged £200m specifically towards that. But some forces have already warned they will have to cut officers this year because of a wider budget crisis. The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC ) said last year that forces faced a £1.3bn funding gap, and the available cash was not being shared evenly between forces due to outdated rules. The Home Office has since confirmed it is putting £1.1bn extra into policing up to April 2026. But the NPCC has warned that if it is to deliver the "Safer Streets" plan, forces would need a pay settlement that would help them to attract and retain the best possible officers. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "For too long communities have had to put up with rising town centre and street crime, and persistent antisocial behaviour, while neighbourhood police have been cut. "And for years too little has been done to tackle the most serious violence of all including knife crime and violence against women and children. "That is why the new Crime and Policing Bill is about taking back our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order, and giving the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime." Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: "Labour had 14 years to come up with new ideas – but all they have done is copied and pasted what the last government had already announced. "Labour's funding settlement next year for police forces leaves them £118m short after accounting for salary rises, inflation and the national insurance hike – putting 1,800 police officers at risk. "Police forces are warning that this will get worse this year due to Labour's inadequate funding settlement."
BBC News
25-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Flagship crime plan unveiled by government
Police will be given new powers targeting knife crime and anti-social behaviour and be allowed to search homes for stolen mobile phones without a warrant under major legislation to be unveiled in Crime and Policing Bill is at the heart of what the government calls its "Safer Streets mission" and ministers want it to become law by the end of the Secretary Yvette Cooper said the bill would take back "our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order". The Conservatives say the plans have been "copied and pasted from the last government's announcements". The Crime and Policing Bill pulls together many measures set out in Labour's general election they come amid questions over whether police have the money to make the government's plan say that the enormous piece of legislation will target the crimes that communities want prioritised to make their areas feel safer and to bear down on behaviour that has gone bill includes the government's proposed "Respect Orders". These court-imposed restrictions will be similar to the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbo) developed in the Tony Blair era, then scrapped by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats coalition a decade Asbos were popular with voters, critics say the restrictions often became unworkable or poorly proposed Respect Orders allow courts to impose restrictions on an individual's behaviour, just like an they would also be able to compel them to attend programmes such as addiction treatment or anger management courses to change their the bill, police gain the power to enter and search a property without a court warrant for a stolen mobile phone, or other items that have been electronically tracked such as laptops or Bluetooth-tagged power means that victims of mobile phone thefts, who are tracking their device while it is in the hands of a criminal, can call on police to recover it quickly. Other measures previously announced in the bill include:Scrapping a 2014 law that classified shoplifting of items worth under £200 as less serious than other retail theft - making them less of a priority for the offence of assaulting a shop worker - also a Conservative commitment before the 2024 General Election.A new police power to seize without warning off-road bikes or e-scooters.A new offence of spiking drinks, separate to current assault judges the power to issue a Stalking Prevention Order against a suspect, even if they are not convicted of a already announced power to be added as the Bill goes through Parliament will compel online retailers to alert police to bulk or suspicious sales of knives. The Home Office says the bill's aims will be delivered by recruiting 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers by 2029 - and the department has pledged £200m specifically towards some forces have already warned they will have to cut officers this year because of a wider budget National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC ) said last year that forces faced a £1.3bn funding gap, and the available cash was not being shared evenly between forces due to outdated Home Office has since confirmed it is putting £1.1bn extra into policing up to April the NPCC has warned that if it is to deliver the "Safer Streets" plan, forces would need a pay settlement that would help them to attract and retain the best possible Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "For too long communities have had to put up with rising town centre and street crime, and persistent antisocial behaviour, while neighbourhood police have been cut."And for years too little has been done to tackle the most serious violence of all including knife crime and violence against women and children."That is why the new Crime and Policing Bill is about taking back our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order, and giving the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime."Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: "Labour had 14 years to come up with new ideas – but all they have done is copied and pasted what the last government had already announced."Labour's funding settlement next year for police forces leaves them £118m short after accounting for salary rises, inflation and the national insurance hike – putting 1,800 police officers at risk. "Police forces are warning that this will get worse this year due to Labour's inadequate funding settlement."
