Rishi Sunak vowed to tackle to clampdown on the blight of neighbourhood louts today with a raft of tough measures against anti-social behaviour.
As he seeks to wrestle back the Tories shrinking reputation as the party of law and order the Prime Minister vowed stronger powers for the police and punitive action against local hooligans.
Fly-tipping and grafittiing will be punishable with fines of up to £1,000 under plans Mr Sunak unveiled in Essex today.
He also vowed action against begging networks run by organised crime, while landlords will get extra help to evict nuisance tenants.
The Government will also ban nitrous oxide – known colloquially as ‘hippy crack’, and widen the ability of police to drug test suspects.
Additionally, those responsible for anti-social behaviour will have to do community service in lurid, hi-viz jumpsuits.
Mr Sunak this morning spoke about the importance of ‘hotspot policing’ and ‘immediate justice’, as he stressed the need for a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to anti-social behaviour.
Confirming a laughing gas ban plan, he said the Government would tackle the ‘scourge’ of drugs as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
As he seeks to wrestle back the Tories shrinking reputation as the party of law and order the Prime Minister vowed stronger powers for the police and punitive action against local hooligans.
Fly-tipping and grafittiing will be punishable with fines of up to £1,000 under plans Mr Sunak unveiled in Essex today.
Ministers have said nobody should be criminalised for not having somewhere to live
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of ‘strong communities built on values’.
‘This is not OK,’ he said, announcing the Conservatives’ plan to tackle anti-social behaviour.
‘It is not the type of country that we are and that is why it is important we do something about it.’
Taking a question from a member of the public during Q&A in Essex, he said: ‘It should be easy for you to say this is what I’ve seen, this is what’s going on and then have the local authorities and the police report back on what they’ve done about it so that you feel that your concerns are being listened to.’
Victims of anti-social behaviour will be given a say in how criminals are disciplined to ensure justice is visible and fits the crime, according to the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities.
In what is being called Hotspot Policing, some areas will trial having enforced police patrols.
Officials said those areas will see an increase in police presence, alongside other uniformed authority figures such as wardens, in problem areas including on public transport, high streets and in parks.
In total, 16 areas will conduct trials of either Immediate Justice or Hotspot Policing, with four police and crime commissioner jurisdictions – Northumbria, Cleveland, Derbyshire and Durham – trying out both.
The intention is to roll out the measures across England and Wales from 2024.
Law enforcement officers and council workers will be given the ‘tools’ to direct people judged to be causing a ‘nuisance on the street’, including by obstructing shop doorways or begging at cash machines, to health and social services.
This could include helping them to find accommodation or assistance with mental health or substance misuse issues, department officials said.
The debris and paraphernalia they leave behind will then be cleared by authorities, the department pledged, in an effort to tidy up Britain’s high streets and make them safer.
Part of the plan also includes making it an offence for criminal gangs to organise begging networks to make them extra cash.
The department said the networks are ‘often used to facilitate illegal activities’.
On addressing homelessness, ministers said they remained ‘committed’ to repealing the ‘antiquated’ Vagrancy Act which was passed in the early 19th century.
The legislation made it a crime to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales.
Ministers have said nobody should be criminalised for not having somewhere to live.
The UK Government consulted last year on how to replace the Act.
The plan to tackle homelessness and nuisance begging forms part of a package of measures aimed at stamping out anti-social behaviour which is due to be unveiled by the Prime Minister on Monday.
It will also include piloting increased police patrols in trouble spots, banning the sale of laughing gas to the public and making it easier for landlords to evict noisy and disruptive tenants.
Mr Sunak, speaking ahead of the plan’s official unveiling, said anti-social behaviour ‘undermines the basic right of people to feel safe in the place they call home’ as he vowed to ‘tackle this issue with the urgency it deserves’.
DailyMail
