Hundreds of town centres to see more police patrols in crime ‘blitz'
More than 500 towns across England and Wales have signed up to the Home Office's safer streets summer initiative, which will run to September 30, with more visible policing and stronger enforcement to 'restore confidence in policing'.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said residents and businesses have a 'right to feel safe in their towns' but the last government left a 'surge' in crime.
In a statement, she said: 'It's time to turn this round, that's why I have called on police forces and councils alike to work together to deliver a summer blitz on town centre crime to send a clear message to those people who bring misery to our towns that their crimes will no longer go unpunished.'
She said part of the neighbourhood policing guarantee includes investment of £200 million this year to begin the recruitment of thousands of new neighbourhood policing officers.
Speaking to members of policing and business sectors at Derby County Football Club's Pride Park Stadium on Thursday, Ms Cooper said every area will have 'named contactable officers for residents and businesses to be able to turn to'.
Ms Cooper said: 'It's one of the most important things to restore confidence in policing is to have those neighbourhood police back on the beat dealing with those very crimes that cause so much problem.
'And if we don't see the police on the streets, then confidence is lost. And I think that is what's happened for far too long.
'If shoppers don't feel safe, they will stay home. People will just stay out of our town centres, and that heart of community will be lost.
'I think these kinds of crimes have been dismissed for too long because crime erodes the social fabric that binds us together and keeps communities strong.
'We've made town centres the very heart of the safer streets mission for this summer, taking back town centres from thugs and thieves – at the heart of that is rebuilding neighbourhood policing.'
Half a million shoplifting offences in England and Wales were recorded by police last year, up 20% from 2023.
In a statement, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'We are on the side of local businesses, and our plan for change is helping create the right conditions for our great British high streets to thrive.
'The Safer Streets Summer Initiative will play a vital role in achieving this by keeping footfall high, communities and those that work in them safe, and the economy growing.'
Anthony Hemmerdinger, managing director of Boots, said: 'Retail theft alongside intimidation and abuse of our team members is unacceptable, so we welcome this additional support from Government and the police to strengthen shop worker protection.'
Police and crime commissioners across England and Wales have developed local action plans with police, including in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Humberside, Devon and Cornwall.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Car set on fire in suspected Dudley arson
EMERGENCY services were at the scene of a car fire in Dudley, with the blaze believed to have been started deliberately. Firefighters and police attended the fire on Sycamore Green on Friday July 4 shortly after 7.35pm. A fire engine from Tipton and a fire engine from Dudley attended, the first arriving within three minutes of being mobilised. A spokesman for West Midlands Fire service said: "This was a car fire on the road. "Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire, which is believed to have been started deliberately. "After extinguishing hotspots, we left this incident at 8.45pm, with police colleagues in attendance." West Midlands Police have been contacted for comment.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Emergency response after person spotted walking towards M40
Police rushed to the side of the M40 to rescue a person who was spotted walking towards the motorway. A concern for welfare 999 call came into the police force at around 3pm on Sunday, July 6. A person had been spotted walking towards the M40 at junction 9 Bicester at the Wendlebury Interchange. READ MORE: Oxfordshire County Council warned motorists to allow for extra time because of the long traffic that had built up as a result. Thames Valley Police's spokesman added: 'There was an incident whereby a person was walking towards the M40 at Junction 9 and so we attended as a fear for welfare which was safely resolved at 3.15pm.' Traffic later returned to a normal flow at about 4.45pm the same day, the county council said.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK marks London 7/7 attacks as king hails 'spirit of unity'
The UK on Monday commemorated the 20th anniversary of the London July 7 bombings that killed 52 people, as King Charles III paid tribute to the spirit of unity shown after the atrocity. To mark the moment the first bomb went off Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan laid wreaths at the July 7 memorial in the capital's Hyde Park at 8:50 am (0750 GMT). On July 7, 2005, four homegrown Islamist extremists detonated suicide bombs on three underground trains and a bus across central London, killing dozens and injuring hundreds more. The city is holding events to mark the anniversary, with members of the royal family expected to join survivors, bereaved relatives and emergency services personnel at commemorations. The king urged people to draw on the "extraordinary courage and compassion" shown following the attack. "We remember with profound sadness the 52 innocent people who were killed in senseless acts of evil -- and the enduring grief of their loved ones," he said in a statement published by the domestic Press Association news agency. "In doing so, we should also remember the countless stories of extraordinary courage and compassion that emerged from the darkness of that day. "The selfless bravery of our emergency services, transport workers, and fellow citizens who rushed towards danger to help strangers reminds us of the very best of humanity in the face of the very worst," he said. - 'We stood together' - Daniel Biddle, who was 26 when he lost both legs and his left eye, recalled the moment he saw one of the bombers prepare to detonate his explosive just after their train pulled out of the Edgware Road station. "I saw the guy lean forward and look along the carriage," he told BBC radio. "I was just about to ask him what he was staring at, what his problem was, then he reached for his bag and there was a brilliant white light. That's a face seared into my mind," he said. Biddle said the anniversary would be "one of those days where you're thankful you've survived it". But he said he still felt "immense sadness and grief" at the suffering the four suicide bombers had inflicted. "I feel like I'm living the life sentence of the men that should be serving," he said. Other bombs went off on London's underground train network near Aldgate station and King's Cross station. An hour after the first explosion, a fourth bomb exploded on the top deck of a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. Starmer said the bombers had tried to divide the nation but failed. "We stood together then, and we stand together now -- against hate and for the values that define us of freedom, democracy and the rule of law." The king's brother Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Sophie will attend a a national service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral. Charles added that "while the horrors will never be forgotten", the country "may take comfort from the way such events rally communities together". "It is this spirit of unity that has helped London, and our nation, to heal," he said. Tony Blair, who was prime minister during the 7/7 bombings, said the UK was safer in the years since the attacks. "We're a lot safer from terrorism because the security services have a very good system in place," he said. "But there will be a problem as long as the ideology exists." Speaking ahead of the anniversary, interior minister Yvette Cooper also warned that Islamist and right-wing extremism remained the country's most significant threats. jwp-har/giv
