As part of the government’s push to address crime levels, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has advocated for contactable named police officers in national neighbourhoods and “high-vis chain gangs” as a punishment for anti-social behaviour.
Following his release from self-isolation, the PM told reporters that "If you are guilty of anti-social behaviour and you are sentenced to unpaid work, as many people are, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be out there in one of those fluorescent-jacketed chain gangs visibly paying your debt to society."
The government’s ‘Beating Crime Plan’ also includes:
The removal of rules that made it harder for officers to use their section 60 stop and search powers
A pilot scheme to test the benefit of sending an officer to every reported burglary, to be trialled in Greater Manchester
Proposals for league tables ranking how quickly police forces answer 101 and 999 calls
More officers to deal with children truanting from school
A £17m programme to persuade young people who attend hospital with a stab wound or come into contact with police to stay away from violence
£45m for specialist teams in schools in places with high levels of violence
PM Johnson also emphasised that the government was putting “£15.8bn into supporting the police”. This follows the Police Federation passing a motion of no confidence in Home Secretary Priti Patel. The chairman of the Federation has since delivered a letter to the PM criticising the Beating Crime Plan.
Labour has accused the government of being “all action and no plan” and shadow home-secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said community policing has been “decimated” under the Conservatives.
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