Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan has called on the government to do more to ensure neighbourhood police are spending their time on Portsmouth streets rather than stuck covering investigation and office work.
The City MP joined a police patrol this week to see where crime is most frequently taking place in the city and hear what support the police need to tackle it so residents feel safe.
Mr Morgan said that conversations with police and residents showed that government cuts and other decisions have led to neighbourhood police spending more time working on investigations, leaving less time to patrol the streets.
The City MP and local police visited areas including South Parade Pier, the Camber and Canoe Lake where anti-social behaviour and crime are frequently reported.
Commenting on the patrol, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“From speaking with the police and local residents, it is clear that more needs to be done to increase the visibility of police on the streets to make Portsmouth people feel safer.
“We see first-hand in our communities how Conservative cuts have hollowed out neighbourhood policing with thousands fewer officers meaning that PCSOs are spending too much time covering office work and not enough time on the beat.
“It is vital that we free up neighbourhood policing to ensure more bobbies are on the beat so local residents feel protected in their homes, on the streets and in their community.”
Labour has set out an anti-social behaviour action plan which will crack down on the anti-social behaviour that is blighting communities, and has pledged to rebuild neighbourhood policing, with 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers and PCSOs, paid for by cleaning up police procurement to save £360m.
Action against crime and antisocial behaviour under the Conservatives has collapsed. The neighbourhood police enforcing ASB powers have been slashed – with PCSO numbers cut in half and 6,000 fewer neighbourhood officers on the beat.
Across the UK, the police recorded 1 million incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the year ending December 2022, more than 19,000 incidents a week and more than 2,700 a day.
Mr Morgan has taken a range of actions on behalf of constituents impacted by crime and anti-social behaviour, including hosting a Cuppa and Chat for constituents to raise concerns, as well as lobbying Government for fairer police funding for Portsmouth. He continues to work closely with local police and the ASB team at the council to make our city safer.
