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The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this debate. The number of Members who are here reflects how important this issue is to all of our constituents.
In an ever more dangerous world, with many things for our constituents to worry about, antisocial behaviour sits at the core of what makes them feel unsafe; it therefore has to be at the core of any Government’s response. I was the shadow Policing Minister when we were in opposition. I embarked on an antisocial behaviour tour to understand why the then Government called it low-level when its effects were so pernicious across so many of our neighbourhoods.
We committed to act in opposition, and we have done so in government. I am proud of the changes that we have introduced. Like everyone else here, I have constituents who will say that we have not gone far enough—that we have not seen the results and need to go further, faster and do more. I wholeheartedly agree, but we have introduced some good changes that are starting to bear fruit.
First, we have the deliberate policy to shift police from behind desks into neighbourhoods. We think that more police should be on our streets, so as well as providing funding for new officers to fill neighbourhood roles, we are encouraging the 12,000 officers who currently sit behind desks to think about whether they can be deployed in more front-facing roles. We believe it is right to do that, and we have changed the funding structures so that police chiefs can make those decisions. It will take time, but that policy is starting to bear fruit, with nearly 4,000 more police in our neighbourhoods. In 2010, when the previous Labour Government left office—before the coalition Government came in, introduced austerity and made policing cuts—the public were more satisfied with policing than they had ever been. In large part, that was due to people seeing neighbourhood policing.
Sarah Jones
I will give way to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon).
Jim Shannon
The Minister is giving comprehensive answers on the Labour Government’s plans. I suggested that we recognise, as I know the Minister will, the good work done by street pastors and churches, through the youth clubs and groups that they organise, across the whole United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Could the Government do more to engage with the street pastors, churches and faith groups that have a plan to help our young people?
Sarah Jones
I will come on to talk about prevention, in which our faith leaders absolutely have a powerful role.
Many Members talked about respect orders. Those came into force on 26 October, and I am delighted that some are already in place—that is good to hear. Although I do not have all the numbers for all the forces, the first respect orders have been issued. For Members who are not aware, respect orders can be put on anybody, anywhere, not just in our town centres. They apply to persistent antisocial behaviour offenders. A previous conviction is not required for someone to be a persistent offender. Housing associations, councils, transport companies and the police can apply for an order.
The order can put on an individual whatever conditions are considered appropriate, such as requiring that they do not come on to a certain street. They may require a person to have treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, as well as other more positive interventions. If those conditions are breached, that is a criminal offence.
Sir John Hayes
As the Minister has heard from Members across the Chamber, social media often plays a part in this problem. I mentioned Holbeach in my constituency, which has suffered from antisocial behaviour. Sometimes, the offenders are very young people indeed, who are communicating on the internet and boasting about what they are doing. Can she apply what she just described to that social media activity, so that the authorities can take action early, before the community suffers the consequences of what is being boasted about?
Sarah Jones
The online space is a work in progress. Criminality online goes across all kinds of different crimes. The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that some young people talk about what they are going to do before putting it into practice, and of course, we have to change our processes to make sure that the police can see that and intervene.
Respect orders are beginning to be used. Other changes were also introduced under the Crime and Policing Act 2026; for example, in areas subject to a public spaces protection order, fines can now be £500 instead of £100. Those changes may appear small, but they are significant and will make a difference. Every area has to have an antisocial behaviour lead. On the need for agencies to work together, which was talked about, every area also has to have an antisocial behaviour strategy that has been made in collaboration with the different agencies. We have extended the dispersal period for which someone can be directed to leave an area from 48 hours to 72 hours.
Amanda Martin
Of the changes that the Minister has listed, one that has worked brilliantly in my city is the removal of face coverings at protests. Would she encourage other forces to do the same? Everyone should have a fair right to protest, but they should not come with a balaclava and bring thuggish behaviour to other people’s cities.
Sarah Jones
My hon. Friend will know that Lord Ken Macdonald has done a review for the Home Secretary on protests more widely. The issue of intimidation at protests is very pertinent to that review, and we will soon publish our response. It is also the case that some police forces have PSPOs that ban face coverings and balaclavas in an area. That is another approach that some areas are taking, and it is one that I welcome.
I will not list them all, but we have introduced a raft of other changes through the 2026 Act that are explicitly designed to target antisocial behaviour. We will also gather more data, because one of the issues with antisocial behaviour is that we do not quite understand the data. Some of it is reported to local authorities and some to the police, so we do not quite understand the nature of the problems. We are gathering that data together.
Lots of Members talked about the trouble we are having across so many communities with e-bikes and e-scooters, which is a debate that we have had numerous times. We have changed the law so that the police can seize them without having to give notice, which is important, but we are looking at what else we can do with this problem—and I recognise that it is a problem. I am going to have a series of roundtables, and I am talking to MPs about both the challenges and the solutions. Some solutions will sit within other Departments—whether that is what was formerly called the Department for Business and Trade, or the Department for Transport—and some will sit within the Home Office, so we are looking at how we can have a collective approach to that challenge.
Some Members talked about persistent shoplifting offenders. It is the case that about 8% of the offenders are responsible for about 50% of the crime, and we will soon be able to announce some work on those prolific offenders in particular. Many Members talked about the underlying problems associated with some of this antisocial behaviour. When we look at prolific offenders, we often find drug addiction, homelessness and other challenges that we need to face collectively. We are considering how we target and support that cohort in a similar way to our rough sleeping cohort that the Prime Minister is so keen to champion. We need to think not just about housing but about the other support that those people need, and we are also trying to take that approach here.
Prevention was mentioned by many people, and I think it is really important. It plays a part in our respect orders and in our prolific offenders work, as well as the wider Government action on youth work and other support, including mental health support. All of these are core things. A lot of antisocial behaviour comes from people who are not getting the support that they might have received 10 or 15 years ago, so it is incredibly important that we look at that side of things.
Sarah Jones
I do not think I should, because I need to give the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr the opportunity to respond.
I will conclude by saying that antisocial behaviour is not a low-level problem. It is awful. I see it in my community, and we are absolutely committed to tackling it. We have introduced a raft of measures, but we need to go further and I will carry on this conversation to see what else we can do. All Members present today know that it is a top priority for our constituents, and we should act appropriately.