Shoppers and businesses in Portsmouth will see increased police patrols and local action to tackle crime this summer, as the Home Secretary launches a major blitz to support safer high streets.
The blitz – which will see officers on the seafront and areas of high anti-social behaviour during peak times – has today been welcomed by Stephen Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South.
More than 500 towns and cities have signed up to the Home Secretary’s Safer Streets summer crackdown, including Portsmouth.
The areas will see increased police patrols and local action to tackle anti-social behaviour. Increased police presence will be accompanied by stronger prevention and enforcement action by police, councils and other local partners.
Under the previous government, shoplifting soared to record levels, with a staggering 70% increase in their last two years in office alone.
Local Police and Crime Commissioners have developed bespoke local action plans with police, businesses, and local councils with the aim of supporting town centres to become vibrant places where people want to live, work, spend time.
These plans include increased visible town centre policing and ramping up the use of targeted enforcement powers against troublemakers – including banning perpetrators from hotspots. Fourteen years of Tory Government saw neighbourhood policing decimated.
The number of PCSOs was slashed by half, while Special Constable numbers were cut by two-thirds.
The blitz comes as part of the Labour Government’s Plan for Change, which will also put 13,000 more police personnel in neighbourhood roles over the course of this Parliament, backed by a £200m cash injection in the first year.
Thanks to this investment, Hampshire will get an additional 65 officers this year.
The summer initiative will also support young people, making sure there are activities across the 500 towns for young people to be involved in throughout the holidays.
The Home Office, alongside police, retailers and industry are also launching a new Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy, which will use shared data to assist in disrupting not just organised criminal gangs, but all types of perpetrators including prolific offenders who are stealing to fund an addiction and ‘opportunist’ offenders.
Creating thriving town centres where businesses and communities can flourish supports the government’s growth mission, raising living standards, backing local economies and supporting communities.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“The Conservatives decimated neighbourhood policing whilst crimes like shoplifting and street theft were spiralling out of control. That was the Tory legacy on law and order, and communities like ours in Portsmouth paid the price.
“I welcome this crackdown, which will make a real difference to my constituents in Portsmouth. We all deserve town centres and high streets free from thugs and thieves.
“As part of this Government’s Plan for Change, we are putting 13,000 new neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs back on the streets by the end of the Parliament.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“High streets and town centres are the very heart of our communities. Residents and businesses have the right to feel safe in their towns. But the last government left a surge in shop theft, street crime and anti-social behaviour which has left too many town centres feeling abandoned.
“It’s time to turn this round, that’s why I have called on police forces and councils 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
“The fact that Portsmouth has signed up shows the strength of feeling locally on this issue.
“Through our Safer Streets Mission and Plan for Change, we are putting officers back on the beat where you can see them and making our town centres safe again”.
