𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Kemi Badenoch has launched a plan to “take back our streets” and hammer down on everyday lawbreaking which leaves Britons feeling unsafe. The Conservative leader wants to end the open smoking of cannabis, tackle the scourge of shoplifting, deal with graffiti and get e-scooters and e-bikes off the nation’s pavements. With May’s local elections looming, the Conservatives claim the country has become “measurably more disorderly” but pledge that if they are returned to power, rule-breaking in plain sight will not go unchallenged. In the meantime, they predict lawlessness will get worse as “Labour’s policies of early release for prisoners come into effect”.

The party says a quarter of all crime occurs in just 5% of neighbourhoods. It promises to recruit 10,000 extra police officers and “deploy hotspot patrolling across the 2,000 highest-crime neighbourhoods”. The Tories say they will be able to “prevent around 35,000 crimes, including violence, theft, anti-social behaviour and public drug use”.

They intend to “triple the use of stop and search to take knives and drugs off the streets” – a move expected to result in around 300,000 more arrests. Live facial recognition would be rolled out in crime hotspots. The Conservatives argue using the technology in the “100 highest crime areas” would “lead to around 22,000 arrests of wanted offenders”.

Under plans for “immediate justice”, police would also gain the power to issue “swift, visible community sentences for offences” without having to go through the courts for acts such as criminal damage, drunk and disorderly behaviour, non-violent harassment, minor assault and first-time drug possession. Offenders would be required to “clean graffiti, tidy parks and repair community spaces”.

The Tories want to “crack down on cannabis and end the culture of police walking by”. Officers would be required to intervene in all cases of cannabis possession, issuing formal cautions or immediate justice assignments for first offences”. They also pledge to “overhaul Labour’s Mental Health Act” so people can be “detained for the safety of the public and themselves”. Tough criminal consequences are also promised to “stamp out ghost” number plates that evade electronic detection.

Mr Badenoch said: “People across Britain want the same basic thing – to feel safe in their own streets and communities. But Labour are more concerned with playing nice and worrying about the ‘rights’ of criminals than standing up for the people who play by the rules. Conservatives are clear about whose side we are on and we will always support those who work hard and do the right thing.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Antisocial behaviour, crime, and disorder destroys our high streets and undermines our society. It also allows more serous offending to take root. Graffiti, open use of drugs, phone theft, and rampant shoplifting – we can all see it happening in Labour’s Britain. We need a zero-tolerance approach. No crime should be ignored. It’s time to restore the rights of the law-abiding majority and put criminals in jail. It’s time to take back the streets.”

Sarah Jones, the Labour minister for crime, policing and fire, shot back, saying: “Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives decimated neighbourhood policing and left our criminal justice system on the verge of collapse. Now they want the public to believe they can fix the dire situation they caused. Rather than lecturing others, they should be apologising to the communities and victims of crime they so badly let down. Labour is fixing the mess the Tories left behind. Our landmark Crime and Policing Bill will crack down on anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, violence against women and girls, knife crime and child abuse. We are also putting 13,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat, restoring confidence in community policing and making Britain’s streets safer.”

*** Ensure our latest politics headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***