As Home Secretary, I fought hard for victims of crime and for the law-abiding patriotic majority. I increased the powers available to the police to take knives off our streets or to arrest militant protestors, all to restore confidence in our criminal justice system
I delivered the ASB Action Plan which set out a radical new approach to tackling anti-social behaviour split across five key areas:
- Stronger punishment for perpetrators, cracking down on illegal drugs, evicting anti-social tenants and making perpetrators of anti-social behaviour repair the damage they inflicted on victims and communities;
- Making communities safer by increasing police presence, deploying tougher financial penalties for wrong doers, and keeping our streets orderly;
- Enhancing local pride by taking actions to revive high streets and revitalise parks and green spaces;
- Prevention and intervention through funding one million more hours of provision for young people, expanding the eligibility criteria for the Turnaround Programme, focusing on targeted support for children most at risk and working with delivery partners on National Youth Guarantee; and
- Improving data, reporting and accountability by simplifying and improving existing reporting structures and increased accountability through better and more transparent data collection.
It has always been my priority to give police the powers they need to deliver a common-sense approach to cutting crime, which puts the law-abiding majority first, and that’s what this action plan delivers.
One of my first priorities as Home Secretary was to encourage the police to get back to basics. We need a return to a system where all burglaries and incidences of theft are investigated, ensuring that victims receive retribution and justice.
In the unfortunate event of a robbery, more must be done to find the perpetrator and help retrieve your stolen possessions. We cannot be complacent with simply logging the incident with the police in return for a crime number for insurance purposes. It’s time we send a clear message to criminals; they won’t be getting away with these crimes anymore.
I wrote to police chiefs, making my views clear, and all forty-three police chiefs have now announced a commitment that all home burglaries in England and Wales will be attended by the police. Wherever you live, you can be confident that the police will attend if your home is burgled.
Tackling ASB in Fort Fareham Woodland
It was good to join Donna Jones, Police & Crime Commissioner for Hampshire & IOW at Fort Fareham woodland with local residents concerned about the increase in anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and usage and use of tents.
I’ll be working with Fareham Borough Council and Hampshire Police to ensure that we get an increased police presence in the area and a clean-up of the graffiti and rubbish which has been left in this lovely natural space.
More Police on Our Streets
I delivered 20,000 new police officers as Home Secretary, a record high in living history. Here in Hampshire, that’s meant 600 more officers serving you in Fareham and Waterlooville.
This record number is enabling us to take action across the board to bring more offenders to justice to better protect victims. Our communities are safer than in 2010, with overall crime on a like-for-like basis down by 54%.
Stamping Out ASB in Warsash
Following reports of ASB in Warsash, I engaged with FBC and local police, who responded swiftly to put an end to this disruptive behaviour.
Many residents on Thornton Avenue, Crofton Way, Hamble Close, Mariners Way, Passage Lane, Shore Road and Brook Lane have been experiencing high levels of nuisance, noise and intimidation by groups assembling and racing their cars in the later hours of the evenings at Passage Lane Car Park.
As a temporary measure to stop the anti-social behaviour, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary enforced a dispersal order under Section 34 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, for the affected Warsash area.
CCTV is being installed to monitor activities in the car park and a special police operation, Operation Chromium, has increased police patrols in the area to tackle this problem once and for all.