Anti-social Behaviour: East of England

Sam Carling Excerpts

Tuesday 11th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Alice Macdonald]

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention and I totally agree. I will come on to the importance of a visible police presence later in my speech. As I said, the city councils have had to lock the gates of parks. Just today, the Feed cafe, a brilliant social enterprise in Waterloo Park in Norwich North, spoke out because it had suffered vandalism again. The manager said that they felt targeted and intimidated. They called for CCTV, which is something that the local council and I will back.

Derelict sites have also become hotspots for antisocial behaviour. Very sadly, a huge blaze broke out a few weeks ago at an empty shoe factory in Dibden Road. Seventeen fire crews had to attend from across the county. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but derelict sites such as this one are too often not properly secured.

[Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)]

In my constituency, I get regular reports of antisocial behaviour in Pleasurefair Meadow carpark and Stanham Way, relating to the screeching of tyres from motorbikes, loud music until the early hours of the morning and constant instances of drugs and antisocial drinking. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to take this sort of antisocial behaviour seriously wherever it is happening and that the local residents should not have to put up with it?

[Alice Macdonald]

I completely agree. Sometimes antisocial behaviour can be dismissed as trivial incidents, but we all know that they are not trivial and that they cause a real disturbance to many of our residents. I also know that my constituents are continually frustrated by antisocial and inconsiderate parking. I am sure that other Members here also have issues raised with them on that, whether it is obstructing pavements or blocking driveways. Indeed, research by the British Parking Association in the last few years has revealed that this is one of the biggest frustrations British people experience in their daily lives.

I want to be clear that Norwich is a great place to live; indeed, we have seen communities rallying round to support each other after antisocial behaviour. But a small minority can cause misery for many, so I welcome the measures that the Government set out yesterday in the Crime and Policing Bill. I particularly welcome the new powers for police to seize vehicles causing havoc in our city centres, removing the prior need for a warning to be given. Recently, e-bikes and e-scooters have been subject to a police crackdown in Norwich, with 12 of them being seized in just one day.

The new respect orders will also give the police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public places, such as high streets and parks. That will make a real difference in areas such as Prince of Wales Road in Norwich. It is home to a lot of vibrant nightlife, but businesses there have often made complaints about antisocial behaviour. I hope the Minister can reassure us that for serious and persistent offenders who affect our constituents day after day, respect orders will indeed give authorities the powers they need.

Of course, many of these measures will only be effective if we have police on the streets to enforce them. I pay tribute to the police and police staff in Norwich and Norfolk, and across the country, who work really hard. That is why I welcome the Government’s commitment to recruit 13,000 extra neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers, with a named and contactable officer in every community. I have met many of the local officers in our area through safer neighbourhoods teams meetings and they work incredibly hard, but often they are stretched to cover the areas they are supposed to cover.

I welcome the fact that the Government have increased police funding by £1.1 billion, which is a 4.1% increase in real terms, including funding to kickstart the recruitment of new officers. Norfolk Constabulary is set to receive £235 million in 2025, which is an increase of £12.8 million on 2024. However, can the Minister reassure me that the recruitment of 13,000 neighbourhood officers and the funding package being provided will result in more police officers on Norfolk streets, so our residents can see and be reassured by their presence?

Under the Conservatives, neighbourhood policing was slashed in communities across the country, but I know that Labour is determined to change that. However, there are still real challenges. The chair of Norfolk Police Federation spoke out earlier this year about the difficulties facing the police forces in our county, including officers leaving or having to take time away from the workplace because of the huge pressures being placed on them. Could the Minister also talk about the action we are taking to support the police at work and address retention issues?

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Lewin (Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald) on securing such an important debate. My constituents have great pride in our community. The marriage of town and country was the vision behind Welwyn Garden City, and Hatfield is a new town that blends hundreds of years of history, such as Hatfield House, with a spirit of innovation as the home of the world’s first jet airliner. Antisocial behaviour is damaging because it chips away at that sense of pride in our communities. Instead of embracing public spaces, people are forced indoors, not looking outwards. They lock the doors to try to stay safe at home.

Like other hon. Members, I hear too many stories of how antisocial behaviour takes its toll on my constituents. I have heard of rocks being thrown at family homes, public urination on street corners, and a banned breed of dog locked up, rarely walked and behaving menacingly. Perhaps most powerful of all, a 10-year-old primary school student on a fantastic visit told me that they had seen a pensioner nearly knocked over by an off-road bike being illegally raced through one of our parks; the incident had made them worried to go to the King George V playing fields in Welwyn Garden City. It is time for action, and this Government get that.

[Sam Carling]

We have that problem with off-road bikes as well e-scooters on pavements. I receive regular complaints from my constituents about them being used improperly, often putting elderly people at great risk because they cannot move out of the way quickly enough when one whizzes up behind them. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to take that sort of antisocial behaviour seriously? Does he welcome, as I do, the measures in the Crime and Policing Bill that will help police seize those vehicles?

[Andrew Lewin]

I absolutely do. My hon. Friend is right to talk about older people being vulnerable to e-scooters, but I think also of young families, mums and dads with prams and babies. I have heard some horror stories about their experiences. I completely endorse what he said.

The Government are taking action. I was delighted to see the Crime and Policing Bill pass Second Reading yesterday. I shall briefly highlight three of its measures, some of which have already been referenced, that could make a difference in Welwyn and Hatfield. First, the Bill will give police the power to seize bikes or vehicles immediately, removing the need for a warning. That is an important change. If bikes or e-scooters are being ridden irresponsibly, let us get them straight off the road.

Secondly, respect orders will give local councils and police powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres, or from drinking in public spaces such as high streets and local parks. Crucially, failure to comply with a respect order will be a criminal offence, so police will have the power to arrest people in breach straight away. Finally and perhaps most important is the manifesto commitment Labour made to recruit 13,000 more neighbourhood police community support officers across the country, with a focus on targeting the most prolific offenders.

Welwyn Hatfield is at its best when the streets are bustling and people come together, feeling both security and pride in the place they call home. This Labour Government understand how much that matters to people, and why tackling antisocial behaviour locally and nationally is rightly a priority.