On Wednesday 27 November I spoke in Westminster during the debate on Respect Orders and Antisocial Behaviour. I welcomed the measures announced by the Minister, Dame Diana Johnson, to tackle the crime and anti-social behaviour and I asked her to consider choosing Reading as one of the locations at which the use of Respect Orders is piloted.
Reading is a wonderful place to live, and residents are rightly proud of our diverse and tolerant town. However, as is sadly the case in many towns and cities across the country, crime and anti-social behaviour have become a blight on many local people’s lives. Reading’s town centre and local parades of shops, our local parks and some residential areas can be the site of street drinking, disorderly behaviour, harassment or vandalism. These anti-social actions can ruin residents’ enjoyment of our public spaces and can make them feel unsafe and threatened in the area where they live.
This is why I have welcomed the new measures announced by the Home Office to progress this Government’s mission to take back our streets by getting more police on the beat and stamping out anti-social behaviour in every community across the country.
The introduction of Respect Orders will give the police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from public spaces and will give police the power to arrest anybody in breach of the terms of their Respect Order. Repeat perpetrators issued with Respect Orders can also be required to address the root cause of their behaviour by being mandated to undertake positive rehabilitation, such as attending drug or alcohol treatment services, or an anger management course.
I believe that these measures will make communities safer by ensuring that repeat offenders face the consequences of their actions, and the victims of this anti-social behaviour are protected from further harm.
These tough new powers are in addition to the Government’s commitment to restoring neighbourhood policing in England and Wales. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will bring back police patrols to town centres, recruit thousands of additional officers to neighbourhood roles and ensure every community has a named local officer to turn to.
The dangerous use of e-scooters and illegally adapted electric bikes has also been a significant issue Reading, and I am pleased that the Home Office also plans to give the police stronger powers to seize vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour.
In addition, constituents have contacted me to express concern about the issue of shoplifting in the town, and I am glad that the Government is due to introduce a new, specific offence of assaulting a retail worker and will end the effective immunity for shop theft of goods under £200.
I will keep constituents updated on the outcome of the request for Reading to be a pilot location for the rollout of Respect Orders. In the meantime, I encourage residents who witness or are affected by anti-social behaviour not to suffer in silence and to report their concerns to the relevant authorities.
Useful information, advice and support for the victims of anti-social behaviour can be found on the website of the charity ASB Help – https://asbhelp.co.uk – and reports about ongoing anti-social behaviour can be shared with the council for investigation by the Antisocial Behaviour Team by email at asb.team@reading.gov.uk or by telephone on 0118 937 3787.
If you witness an incident that involves an immediate threat to public safety or if you think someone is in immediate danger, you should call 999. Other non-emergency incidents of anti-social behaviour can be reported to Thames Valley Police by calling the non-emergency number 101 or by using the online reporting tool: https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/
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