Labour's Crime and Policing Bill will restore police trust
Officers have been pulled from the beat, breaking the vital connections with the areas they serve.
Knife crime claimed 262 lives last year alone, and we have seen a disturbing rise of offences from shop theft to spiking and drug gangs destroying children's lives by exploiting them for criminal activity.
Meanwhile, public confidence has been damaged by misconduct, while police chiefs are also crying out for radical reforms to help deliver better value for taxpayers.
This government has acted. Change is underway. Our landmark Crime and Policing Bill is central to our mission to cut crime and make our streets safer.
This week, that Bill takes a step closer to becoming law when it returns to the House of Commons.
This is a pivotal moment for this government, and will help to deliver meaningful change to people's lives and rebuild their confidence in those tasked with protecting them.
We have already introduced in the Bill strengthened powers to fight anti-social behaviour; including new Respect Orders to ban repeat offenders from town centres and the power to seize nuisance vehicles like e-bikes and e-scooters without warning, and Ronan's Law will stop knives from being sold illegally online and introduce tough punishments for social media execs who allow our young people to see knife crime content online.
But we are going further, strengthening this Bill. We will extend a barred list to stop disgraced officers from ever serving again, making sure only officers fit to serve are allowed to wear a badge.
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And to better protect the hardworking police who patrol our communities, we have laid an amendment that will stop them being subjected to racial and religious abuse during home visits, closing a loophole that allowed people to get away with this.
This Bill is just one part of our work to keep our streets safe.
This year, we have backed the police with an extra £1.2 billion, including £200 million specifically for 3,000 more officers, community support officers and special constables in neighbourhood roles by next April. Investment in the police will be boosted above inflation every year for this Spending Review period.
This will mean we can continue to progress toward our 13,000 target, part of our Plan for Change.
At the same time, we expect forces make the reforms needed win back the public trust. Our upcoming Police Reform White Paper will improve performances, drive up standards and improve efficiency
It will not be simple, but together we will deliver on our promise to rebuilt trust in the police, cut crime and make our streets safer places to live, work and raise families.
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