Stephen Morgan MP raised constituent concerns regarding anti-social behaviour in Parliament today, calling on the Home Secretary to explain why her Government has halved the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) since 2010, a vital resource to tackling anti-social behaviour in Portsmouth.
It follows a spate of complaints received by Mr Morgan regarding incidents of anti-social behaviour at South Parade Pier, the Camber, Bransbury Park and Commercial Road, which have been having a real and detrimental impact on local residents.
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.
This week marks the beginning of Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week, a national campaign aiming to coordinate action on this issue and make communities safer.
Mr Morgan has said that anti-social behaviour is not a low-level crime and has had a long-lasting impact on victims and communities in Portsmouth.
Recent YouGov research commissioned by Resolve found that almost 1 in 5 people have had to consider moving home because of the impact ASB was having on them; while 1 in 10 have actually moved. Despite this, over half of those surveyed who were either a victim or witness of ASB did not report the ASB.
Yet action against 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.
At the same time, youth services have faced an estimated 74% cut in real terms funding since 2010.
Raising these issues in the House of Commons today, Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan asked:
“Hampshire and Isle of Wight police is one of the lowest funded forces in the UK, and with a decade of cuts to youth services, anti-social behaviour has been left to thrive under this Government.
We’ve seen the consequences of this at South Parade Pier, at the Camber, and at many other places across Portsmouth.
Neighbourhood policing is vital to crack down on anti-social behaviour, which ruins so many lives.
What explanation can the Minister give for halving PCSOs over the last 13 years?”
Labour has developed an anti-social behaviour national 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.
Mr Morgan has taken a range of actions on behalf of constituents impacted by anti-social behaviour, including hosting a Cuppa and Chat for constituents to raise concerns, joining Police on local patrols, as well as lobbying Government for fairer police funding for Portsmouth. He continues to work closely with local police and the ABS team at the council to make our city safer.
You can view Mr Morgan’s question and the Home Secretary’s response here.
