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Labour is to bring back anti-social behaviour orders to crack down on persistent offenders as part of a revived Blairite approach to tackle street crime.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, will pledge on Thursday to take charge of efforts to reduce street crime by setting up a ministerial group, similar to the one set up by Sir Tony Blair, to oversee the crackdown.
Police will be given powers to use “respect orders” – a revamped form of Asbos – against adults for harassment, intimidating behaviour, drug use, littering and street drinking. Breaching the orders would be a criminal offence leading to those convicted being issued with community payback orders up to a custodial sentence.
Asbos, introduced by Sir Tony in 1998, were ditched by Lord Cameron’s coalition government in 2014 for being too complex, bureaucratic and criminalising young people. They were replaced by civil injunctions, which have been used infrequently as officers cannot arrest those who breach them.
The new respect orders would only be used against adults and targeted at persistent offenders. Although they are a civil order, breaching them would be a crime, enabling police to arrest offenders. Breaching an Asbo carried a maximum of five years in jail but Labour is yet to consult on the custodial terms for respect orders.
Police will also be encouraged to use public space protection orders (PSPOs) to ban repeat offenders from town centres and stamp out public drinking and drug use. The package aims to show that Labour can be as tough – if not tougher – than the Conservatives on crime, citing a doubling in snatch thefts of mobile phones from 30,000 to 58,000, a 60 per cent increase in personal thefts and growth in anti-social behaviour to a record high since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister.
Ms Cooper confirmed Labour’s plans to put 13,000 neighbourhood police, police community support officers (PCSOs) and special constables on the beat in England and Wales.
“We will get police back out in the community with the powers they need, not just stuck behind desks dealing with bureaucracy,” she said.
Labour claims the Conservatives weakened Labour’s anti-social behaviour enforcement powers in 2014 by removing the power of arrest for breaching orders.
Ms Cooper said the powers would enable police to “crack down on those who cause havoc on our high streets”.
She plans to set up a team similar to Sir Tony’s Street Crime Action Group, of ministers, senior civil servants and law enforcement chiefs, which would report directly to the Home Secretary.
Sir Tony’s group met every two weeks in the Cabinet Office Briefing Room – a venue normally used for co-ordinating responses to civil emergencies or terrorism. It developed a programme of action in the 10 areas of England worst hit by robberies and muggings, helped by the Home Office ring-fencing £67 million. It cut street crime by 17 per cent in a year.
Labour’s plans have been backed by former police chiefs. Stephen Otter, the former chief constable of Devon and Cornwall, said there had been a “shocking decay” in neighbourhood policing across the country which had led to a “worrying decline” in trust in the police.
In an article for The Telegraph, below, Gavin Thomas, former president of the Police Superintendents’ Association, said: “The bedrock of the British policing model is the presence of police in communities: engaged, communicating and tackling what are sometimes referred to as ‘low-level’ or ‘minor’ incidents of antisocial behaviour.
“If you have been repeatedly subjected to low-level or minor incidents, believe me, they are not minor nor low-level. They fundamentally break and distort communities.”
However, Chris Philp, the policing minister, said: “This policy isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. This is the same party that fought to keep violent murderers and sexual offenders in Britain by stopping deportation flights and tried to take Tasers off our police.”
This is the bedrock of policing that people want to see restored
By Gavin Thomas
The Peelian principles that still serve as the cornerstone of reference for the British policing model have one consistent theme running through each of the nine tenets: the public.
But since 1829, when Sir Robert Peel set out those principles and founded the Metropolitan Police, there have been times when the police, by design or necessity, have withdrawn from the public. The consequences have been severe: low public trust, poor relationships and distant partnerships.
The most significant effect has been the police moving from being a police “service”, a term introduced by one of the key reforming Met Commissioners, Sir Robert Mark, to one of a police “force”, able only to respond to emergencies.
During my 30-plus years in the police, I witnessed how the last Labour government, between 1997 and 2010, championed neighbourhood policing, enhancing areas of good practice in the service. Identifiable police neighbourhood teams were active in their communities, working in partnership with other agencies and the public to reduce antisocial behaviour, addressing the problems that brought fear and tension to a community so that daily life became a positive and safe experience.
I also witnessed austerity and all the changes and consequences that have resulted from that period, from 2010 onwards. I fully acknowledge that the nature of crime and disorder continues to change – the demands of technology are an obvious example – but I still believe the bedrock of the British policing model is the presence of police, in communities: engaged, communicating and tackling what are sometimes referred to as “low-level” or “minor” incidents of antisocial behaviour. If you have been repeatedly subjected to low-level or minor incidents, believe me, they are not minor nor low-level. They fundamentally break and distort communities.
Labour is launching policies, on neighbourhood policing and antisocial behaviour, to rebuild those foundations – the “bedrock” that I believe so many communities want back. There will, of course, be difficult decisions to come. But I firmly believe that Labour’s plan to bring back neighbourhood policing, as a priority, so that the amazing people who serve in what is still regarded as the best police service in the world work in partnership with the public, can rebuild much of what has been lost.
Gavin Thomas is a retired detective chief superintendent and past president of the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales