My response to the measures announced in the Crime and Policing Bill:
“The Government’s Crime & Policing Bill, introduced into Parliament this week, delivers on some of the key issues that I have been championing on behalf of businesses and local people for some time including tackling shop theft, assault and abuse of shopworkers, as well as anti-social behaviour (ASB).
“Many of the measures build on the foundations laid by the previous Conservative government and I welcome the move to treat violence against women and girls as a national policing priority, strengthening Stalking Protection Orders, barring sex offenders from changing their names and the new criminal offence of Spiking.
“New, warrantless powers of entry for police will allow them to search properties within the ‘golden hour of investigations’ which will be welcomed by detectives. Powers to seize e-bikes and e-scooters and banning orders for ASB offenders will help to make our roads and town centres safer and address two key concerns of Sussex residents in particular.
“It is perplexing and disappointing however that the government has stopped the cycle of Safer Streets funding as this has transformed city centres over the past four years. Similarly, the government has pulled the plug on our successful Immediate Justice programme, which was popular with residents as it saw offenders clean graffiti and pick up litter in reparative activities for the harm and damage they have caused.
“The “scrapping of the £200” retail theft threshold announced yesterday is, in reality, a clarification of existing legislation - many police forces already respond to, investigate and prosecute so-called lower value thefts with offenders imprisoned for up to a year.
"However, with our courts already under pressure, I remain convinced that this move will only serve to increase the backlog of cases in the system and, with prisons already overflowing, we desperately need other sanctions for persistent shoplifters, such as electronic tagging. Whilst I have consistently asked this government to support the tagging of shoplifters, I am now actively looking at implementing a pilot scheme in Sussex in order to demonstrate the deterrent effect this targeting of perpetrators might achieve.”
