Antisocial Behaviour: Dudley

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Gill Furniss (in the Chair)]

I will call Sonia Kumar to move the motion and then the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may make only a very short speech with the prior permission of the Member in charge and the Minister. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for a 30-minute debate.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the matter of anti-social behaviour in Dudley.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss; I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate on antisocial behaviour in Dudley.

Antisocial behaviour strikes at the heart of every community in the UK. In Dudley, residents are increasingly concerned about vandalism, intimidation, dangerous driving, off-road bikes, groups engaging in persistent disorder, theft, drug dealing and—my pet hate—fly-tipping. Antisocial behaviour erodes community confidence and makes people feel unsafe. It not only undermines trust among neighbours but hinders our local businesses and tarnishes our towns’ reputations as vibrant, welcoming places to work and live.

The impact on our high streets and businesses is significant. Some estimates show that the cost to businesses and individuals of the heightened fear of crime is in excess of £70 billion a year. That is simply unacceptable. We must be better at reducing the cost and consequences of antisocial behaviour.

Why do we have antisocial behaviour? It is a complex issue with social, psychological and economic factors. Poverty and deprivation are consistently identified as primary root causes. High levels of poor mental health, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, especially among teenagers, can contribute to it.

This issue is not just for the Minister here today; it should be tackled cross-departmentally. If people in my constituency thought that they had a genuine say in their community and equal opportunity for jobs, housing and a better quality of life, they may feel differently.

[Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)]

I recently spoke to one of my Halesowen constituents who faced problems with antisocial behaviour. Somebody frequently smoked cannabis outside her property, and although she reported it to Dudley council and the police, little was done. In fact, it was only after my office became involved that something happened. Does my hon. Friend agree that although that might seem a minor incident to the authorities, it is really important for our constituents, and it is absolutely imperative that they strive to tackle antisocial behaviour?

[Sonia Kumar]

I agree. Many people have said to me that the smoking of cannabis and drug dealing across the constituency is causing them not to want to go out, and they are really worried about their children. It is also just wrong, and we need better rehabilitation services.

A question we should reflect on is why people have such high levels of antisocial behaviour. I would like to highlight the crucial role of prevention in tackling antisocial behaviour. Effective prevention is about not just responding to incidents after they occur but addressing the root causes and stopping them before they start.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

We all have, in our constituencies, the antisocial behaviour issues to which the hon. Lady refers. Does she agree that the prevalence of antisocial behaviour throughout this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland suggests that we need to do more to engage with the youth and give them a stake in the community? I believe that that is the thrust of her ideas. In my constituency, church organisations such as the Boys’ Brigade, the Girls’ Brigade, campaigners and other church youth groups have given young people routes to greater support to ensure that more young people are taught skills, thereby improving social cohesion. Churches have a role, and if we let them play it, we will all benefit.

[Sonia Kumar]

I agree. Engagement in all aspects of the community is important, whether we are talking about the church, the gurdwara, the mosque or the synagogue. It does not matter what the community forum is—it could just be the youth centre—but if youth are engaged in that, we should pursue those routes to get them to take a more active role in society.

Early engagement with young people in schools to address adverse behaviour before it escalates is paramount. We should look particularly at regular, high-visibility foot and vehicle patrols in hotspots to deter offenders. Close collaboration with local businesses and residents to identify persistent offenders and intervene early is essential. It is about building community cohesion and providing job opportunities and rehabilitation for people who have committed antisocial behaviour offences. Too often, there is a lack of outlets where our youth can enjoy safe and entertaining activities, including participating in sport.

Without sports, youth or activity centres, young people are left with limited options, which can lead to antisocial behaviour. This is why I am fighting to bring back Dudley Town football club and why community assets such as Sedgley library must be saved. These assets are essential for our community, and that is also why I oppose the closure of Meadow Road youth centre in my constituency.

I am hugely grateful to the Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, for securing the west midlands as a youth guarantee trailblazer area, focusing on supporting young people who are not in education, employment or training. That programme is just part of the solution and will reduce antisocial behaviour over the long term. This is why I am fighting for it to be in Dudley.

There are other reasons why antisocial crime has proliferated in Dudley. Like much of the west midlands, Dudley has seen crime increase dramatically over the past decade. We have witnessed a 76% increase in crime locally, while the west midlands as a whole has seen an increase of 79%. That trend is deeply worrying. Chronic underfunding and a significant cut to police numbers over the past 14 years have hampered our police forces, with 700 fewer deployed police officers in the west midlands compared with 2010.

Despite these challenges, our police officers continue to do a fantastic job, and I want to take this moment to thank them for their unwavering commitment to keeping us safe, even under the most challenging circumstances. I firmly believe that by supporting our local police, we can turn those troubling statistics around.

[Alex Ballinger]

My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is delivering an excellent speech. Does she welcome the fact that 150 extra neighbourhood police officers are coming to the west midlands as part of the Labour party’s commitment to providing 13,000 extra neighbourhood police officers? Will that not help us to tackle the antisocial behaviour we are seeing across Dudley?

[Sonia Kumar]

I thank my hon. Friend. That is why I welcomed the Government’s announcement of £200 million for neighbourhood policing as part of the wider £1 billion boost. This investment will reassure communities as they once again see local police officers patrolling our streets. By supporting our local police forces, we will turn around the worrying trend in crime statistics.

I was delighted to see locally that our police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, secured an extra 150 neighbourhood police officers for the west midlands, alongside a further 139 officers redeployed into neighbour-hood policing. Neighbourhood policing must be at the heart of our approach. The actions taken by the PCC are exactly what we need to ensure policing once again serves our community. That is part of the PCC’s new police and crime plan, which I wholeheartedly support, but we can and must go further.

We in this House must demonstrate that we take the concerns of our constituents seriously when it comes to antisocial behaviour and tackling crime in the 21st century. That is why I was delighted to support the Crime and Policing Bill on Second Reading earlier this year. The Bill introduces respect orders, which will allow police and local authorities to target persistent offenders through tougher restrictions. It extends closure powers to help to shut down premises that are a magnet for crime and disorder, and increases the penalties for repeat offenders, ensuring that those responsible for making people’s lives a misery are held to account.

Crucially, the Bill ensures that victims’ voices are at the heart of the process and are heard. When reporting incidents, victims can feel confident that authorities will act and take their voices seriously with the introduction of new reviews of antisocial behaviour complaints. That is particularly important for housing estates and high streets in Dudley, where persistent disorder can drive businesses away and disrupt families trying to go about their daily lives. The Bill will also support local authorities to search and seize vehicles linked to fly-tipping.

Antisocial behaviour in Dudley is an issue that I receive emails about every single day. One case that stuck with me happened on Oak Street, where a resident wrote to me about drug dealing, vandalism and threatening behaviour by gangs who frequently gather near Silver Jubilee Park. Residents became so worried that they remained in their homes, frightened to go out and complain for fear of retaliation. Sadly, when those issues were raised with the council, it refused to reinstall temporary CCTV. That was incredibly frustrating and disappointing. I hope that my Conservative council is listening and will change its decision.

Regrettably, that is not an isolated issue. In Upper Gornal, there are repeated incidents of joyriding on motorbikes late at night around the green, disrupting local residents and making roads too dangerous to use in case of an accident. Fly-tipping is also a constant issue for my constituents, with Kates Hill in Dudley singled out to me as a significant problem area for residents.

[Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. This issue affects not just Dudley but the whole of Dudley borough, an area that covers the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) and my Stourbridge constituency. Fly-tipping is absolutely prolific in the Lye ward of my constituency, and the council is really struggling to enforce against much of it because a lot of it associated with organised crime. Does she agree that we need to support and resource councils to tackle this antisocial environmental crime in collaboration with stakeholders?

[Sonia Kumar]

I agree with my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour. We need to ensure that the local council is engaging with residents in community forums and working with local police, and that we have more police on our streets.

Car theft is another serious issue. In my area in particular, I am too often told by email about cases of car theft and burglary. People send me emails and Facebook messages saying that, time and again, those issues are not being properly reviewed. Constituents are frightened, and it adds unnecessary stress for local residents.

I could go on and list the issues that residents have raised with me through email and social media, whether that is racial slurs being shouted, public urination, vandalism of public gardens, drug dealing or roads covered by litter. It is entirely unacceptable, and that behaviour is a blight on the communities of Dudley. It causes terror, particularly for elderly and vulnerable residents, causes damage to our communities, undermines pride of place and breeds a culture and perception of lawlessness, which ultimately leads only one way.

I am grateful for the work that the Government have already done and their plans to increase police numbers and tackle antisocial behaviour. My concern, however, is that when announcements are made about resources being allocated to the west midlands, Dudley often does not get its fair share. Can the Minister reassure me that any extra police officers, resources for youth centres, and support for young people that are directed to the west midlands are fairly shared with towns such as Dudley? We can reassure residents that not just big cities, but our towns, get the funding, and that they will not miss out. Can she also reassure me that Dudley will have the opportunity to be home to a youth trailblazer?

Antisocial behaviour is a multifaceted issue that demands a comprehensive response. We must invest in prevention, support our police, ensure the fair distribution of resources and give our young people hope and opportunities. Only then can we restore pride, safety and confidence in Dudley’s communities.