Labour says it would tackle vandalism with 13,000 more police on the beat

Labour has vowed to tackle vandalism as both red and blue sides of Parliament compete to be the party of law and order.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper pledged 13,000 additional police and community support officers in neighbourhoods – roles she said have been ‘decimated’ by the Tories.

Policing minister Chris Philp called the promise ‘weak’ and suggested Labour is ‘soft on crime and soft on criminals’.

However, the opposition is pointing to falling charge rates under successive Tory governments, with arson and criminal damage down from 7.9% in 2015 to 3.9%.

Some 41,550 offences of ‘criminal damage to a building other than a dwelling’ were recorded by police in the year ending September 2021.

The latest figures show it has risen to 54,487 – 150 incidents each day.

Ms Cooper said: ‘Under the Conservatives, our town centres are being hit by growing levels of vandalism, with people smashing shop windows, graffitiing public spaces and trashing our high streets, yet nothing is done.

‘Neighbourhood policing has been decimated under the Tories and as result criminals and vandals are getting away scot-free while communities are being let down.

‘The next Labour government will put 13,000 police and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles because everyone deserves to feel safe.’

Crime-fighting plans are playing a central role in both Labour and Tory campaigns ahead of the local elections next month.

Keir Starmer said anti-social behaviour is a ‘huge’ problem and accused the government of pretending it is ‘low level’.

‘I think it’s about prevention and cure and that’s why our proposal to have 13,000 new neighbourhood police officers is so important, because they have dual functions,’ he said.

‘They are part of their local community. They know the people that they’re working with. So that’s the prevention bit, but then if it does require enforcement, they’re there, they know what’s going on.’

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak has pledged to tackle grooming gangs, including a consultation on mandatory reporting for adults working with children.

He pledged to ‘stamp out this evil’ on a visit to Rochdale where a grooming scandal was uncovered in 2012.

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