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THE POLICE and Crime Commissioner has welcomed government plans which will aim to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The announcement follows the release of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, which laid out government strategy to counter a number of criminal and social issues.
PM Rishi Sunak set out his proposals on Monday, March 27, which included plans to tackle rough sleepers, drug use, fly tipping, and nuisance tenants.
Matthew Barber, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, has welcomed the announcement, calling it a “boost” to efforts to improve crime rates and anti-social behaviour.
The plans have named 16 areas in England and Wales which will see extra funding for targeted measures in anti-social behaviour “hotspots.”
These areas can instead trial a new “immediate justice” scheme which intends to provide “swift and visible” punishment for crimes such as vandalism.
Both of these schemes are also set to roll out across England and Wales by 2024.
Elsewhere in the plans, local councils and police forces will be given more powers to act against vagrants obstructing doorways or cash points.
The measure has meant that fines have been raised from £100 to a maximum of £500 for the breaching of public space protection orders, which are often used to target those sleeping rough.
Further powers to evict nuisance tenants have also been handed down to landlords, though it is currently unclear how this will affect assurances that Section 21 evictions would be scrapped, as laid out in the Renters’ Reform Bill due later this year.
It also contains a section banning the use of nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas,” which the office of the PCC has said is a “common complaint” of residents in Thames Valley.
Mr Barber himself is also set to lay out the Thames Valley strategy for tackling anti-social behaviour in the region in his Crimefighters Strategy outline on Friday, April 14th.
Matthew Barber said: “The measures being set out by the Government are a welcome boost to our efforts to make communities in Thames Valley safer.
“As part of my upcoming Crimefighters strategy, the public will see a significant increase in neighbourhood policing, focussed on crime prevention. The new powers set out this week will help to make the police more proactive.”
It comes just days after the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, met with Mr Barber and Greg Smith, MP for Buckingham, to discuss the work of TVP’s rural crime taskforce.
Braverman praised the taskforce’s work, which saw the recovery of more than £1.5 million’s worth of stolen goods.
Mr Barber said of the meeting: “It was great to showcase some of the work being done by Thames Valley Police to protect our rural communities.
“The Home Secretary heard from farmers and the NFU about the challenges that theft of machinery and tools present to those farming in Thames Valley.
“It also provided an opportunity to explain the work being done to improve forensic marking of machinery and equipment.”
Full details of the government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan are available online via: gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-action-plan
