Policing and drug and alcohol treatment in Hull
The petition of residents of the constituency of Kingston Upon Hull,
Declares that they consider that levels of anti-social behaviour in the constituency are growing at a rapid rate.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to consider reallocating funding for both the Police and drug and alcohol treatment in Kingston Upon Hull to restore it to 2010 levels in order to reduce anti-social behaviour.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Dame Diana Johnson, Official Report, 27 March 2023; Vol. 730, c. 801.]
[P002818]
Observations from the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire (Chris Philp):
The Government are committed to tackling and preventing antisocial behaviour (ASB). The Government know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and the wider community.
On 27 March the Government published the ASB Action Plan. The ASB Action Plan commits to tackling ASB across five key themes: stronger punishment, making communities safer, building local pride, prevention and early intervention, improving data, reporting and accountability for action. Cracking down on antisocial behaviour works in tandem with this Government’s priorities to prevent more murders, drive down violent crime, including against women and girls, and burglaries.
This plan is backed by £160 million of funding. This includes up to £60 million to fund an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on antisocial behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially this will be in 10 police force areas, but from 2024 will support a hotspot approach across every police force area in England and Wales, which will see thousands of additional patrols taking place in places blighted by antisocial behaviour. The Government are delivering £10 million of additional funding in 2023-24 for 10 Police and Crime Commissioners to establish new Immediate Justice pathways aimed at delivering swift, visible punishment for anti-social behaviour. This will be rolled out to all police force areas in 2024-25.
Through legislation, the Government are bringing in a number of changes to tackle drug misuse. Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) will be banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Police powers will be extended to enable them to drug test suspected criminals in police custody for a wider range of drugs, including ecstasy and methamphetamine. It will be easier to test in cases linked to crimes like violence against women and girls, serious violence, and antisocial behaviour.
The Government are also consulting on key ASB powers to ensure they are as effective as possible and will prohibit begging where it is causing a public nuisance.
The Government have an ambitious programme of activity underway to tackle alcohol-related crime and work with police and licensing stakeholders to ensure thriving and safe night-time economies. The Government are piloting a training programme to help frontline practitioners identify where alcohol misuse and domestic abuse are co-occurring and to facilitate greater join-up with GPs and police.
Humberside Police’s funding will be up to £231.7 million in 2023-24, an increase of up to £7.9 million when compared to 2022-23. As at 31 December 2022, Humberside had recruited 299 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 322 officers. The force has been allocated 129 additional uplift officers in the final year of the uplift.