Sarah Jones MP: speeches

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Speeches

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source
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    I thank my hon. Friend for his question. It is encouraging to see the work going on in his constituency. It is our intention to ensure that the police have the resources they need to do the jobs we need them to do, whether in hotspot policing, neighbourhood policing or tackling anti-social behaviour. We will change legislation here in Parliament to ensure they have the powers as well as the resources they need to act locally in the interests of our constituents.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source
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    As part of our commitment to restore neighbourhood policing, the neighbourhood policing programme career pathway developed by the College of Policing is creating a structured training pathway to professionalise neighbourhood policing, benefiting communities across England and Wales, including in Wrexham. In terms of recruitment, North Wales police has been allocated just over £2 million to support its projected neighbourhood policing growth over 2025-26, which is made up of 26 additional police officers and 15 police community support officers.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source
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    Antisocial behaviour is pernicious wherever it happens. Of course, we need to ensure that the police have the right resources. As the Home Secretary said, police allocation decisions will be made in the autumn, but I am happy to have a conversation with the hon. Member about the particular issues he is facing in his constituency to ensure that, when it comes to issues such as police cars and vehicles, we are making the most of taxpayers’ money and making as many efficiencies as we can on that front.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source
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    I am happy to take that question on board. I have spoken to the heads of all the violence reduction units across the country today, and it is clear that some of the most important work they can do is in partnership with other agencies and other bodies, whether in education, our youth services or others. We need to pull the resources we have together, use what works and follow the evidence.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source
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    Antisocial behaviour causes untold distress and misery across our communities. Under the previous Government, the response to this menace was weak and ineffective, and visible neighbourhood policing declined dramatically. This Government are putting that right by rebuilding neighbourhood policing and introducing respect orders to tackle persistent perpetrators and stronger powers to seize dangerous and deafening off-road bikes.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source
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    I think the number of constituents who responded to my hon. Friend’s survey shows that this is really important for our communities and something that we have to get a grip of. There has been a worrying increase in such crimes. As part of our safer streets mission, this Government are cracking down on the crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities, including snatch, theft, pickpocketing and robbery. Our safer streets initiative has been running this summer in town centres, including in my hon. Friend’s constituency, I think. We aim to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour, and the sale of off-road bikes is at the heart of that.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Frontline Policing: Bureaucracy · Hansard source
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    The Government are committed to tackling bureaucracy and are investing tens of millions of pounds this year in technology to get officers on to the frontline. That includes working with police to reduce admin, using tools such as automated redaction and artificial intelligence, and deploying cutting-edge technology such as facial recognition and video response to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of policing.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Frontline Policing: Bureaucracy · Hansard source
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    I am sorry that my hon. Friend’s police and crime commissioner is not doing what is needed. We need to empower the police to be out doing what they do best, not creating barriers for them to do so.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Frontline Policing: Bureaucracy · Hansard source
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    We need to ensure that the police are doing what we need them to be doing, and that they are out on the streets solving crime and not tied up in red tape. That is absolutely certain. The way to be tough on crime is to be smart on crime, and I am happy to look at the hon. Gentleman’s suggestions.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Police Stations · Hansard source
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    I am of course happy to talk to my hon. Friend about the situation in his local community so we can ensure that the police are doing all they can to tackle all the crimes that were not considered a priority under the last Government, from antisocial behaviour to low-level threat. That is extremely important to our communities.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Police Stations · Hansard source
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    May I associate myself with the comments made by the hon. Member at the start of her question? As she would expect, we have been in close contact with the Met throughout the weekend. Our thoughts are with the officers who were injured, some of them seriously, and we must of course ensure that justice is done for them: they run into danger for us every day. It is clear to me that the Mayor of London is making the right decisions on policing across London. Of course Members will feel that their particular police stations are important, and of course visible policing is important. What our communities are saying—what my communities in Croydon are saying to me—is that they want to see police on our streets tackling crime, not sitting behind desks doing the jobs that unwarranted police officers could be doing, and that is why we are putting neighbourhood policing at the heart of our policies and putting those 3,000 officers back on our streets by April next year.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Police Stations · Hansard source
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    It is clear to us that visible policing is essential to restoring public confidence in our police, which is why there will be 3,000 more neighbourhood police on the beat by April next year under this Labour Government. The Metropolitan police will receive up to £3.8 billion in 2025-26, a £262 million increase in funding through the settlement.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Police Stations · Hansard source
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    I thank my opposite number for his welcome. Let me also use this opportunity to thank the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham (Dame Diana Johnson), who did a brilliant job as Policing Minister over the past year. Under the last couple of years of the Conservative Government, shoplifting soared: we saw a 70% increase. Street theft rose by 60% in two years, and the Conservatives ignored antisocial behaviour. Violence and abuse against shop workers was at epidemic levels, and the yo-yoing of the police numbers did not help; the hon. Gentleman may remember that the Conservatives cut them by 20,000. We are prioritising neighbourhood policing. We will ensure that the police have the resources that they need, and we will use new technology to ensure that we are tackling crime as much as we can. Those 3,000 neighbourhood police officers will be in place by next year, and the 13,000 police officers that we have pledged in our manifesto will make a real difference to people’s lives.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Grooming Gangs: National Inquiry · Hansard source
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    For the sake of the victims, who we all think about today, we must ensure that we get this right. There were multiple issues with the chair at the start of Baroness Jay’s inquiry, which took many years. We want to do what Baroness Casey has recommended, do this right and properly, and do this alongside the victims, whom we are talking to. We must, of course, lead the way on this. We will ensure that we get the right strategy; it is for Scotland and the Scottish Government to decide on whether to have a similar strategy. It is important to say that, alongside having this important national strategy, we are putting in place lots of other policies to tackle this kind of crime.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Grooming Gangs: National Inquiry · Hansard source
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    I will not take any lessons from the hon. Lady, given that the previous inquiry was not implemented in any way, shape or form by the previous Government. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are putting in place Baroness Jay’s key recommendations, which is the right thing to do. It is so important that we make the right decisions about the chair, the terms of reference and the process for this inquiry, which has victims at its heart. We are following Baroness Casey’s advice, and as the hon. Lady will hear soon, we will ensure that we have the right chair and the right approach for the victims. We can do no less.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Grooming Gangs: National Inquiry · Hansard source
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    The process of selecting a respected and independent chair for the national inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse is under way. A dedicated victims and survivors panel is supporting the process. The inquiry’s terms of reference will of course follow, shaped by a public consultation. The inquiry will be trauma-informed and time-limited, as recommended by Baroness Casey, ensuring accountability, truth and change.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    That is a concern that many Members in the House share. The Crime and Policing Bill will give the police powers to seize vehicles being used antisocially. I am happy to have a conversation with the hon. Lady about what more we need to do.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    We need to ensure that our police officers are given the best support that they can be given through the Police Federation, which is the vehicle by which they are supported through any incidents they have. I will be working very closely with it to ensure that it is doing the right thing on behalf of its members.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    We offer our sympathy to the family of Harvey, whose death is a heartbreaking tragedy that has devastated the entire community. Our thoughts remain with his family and friends. Of course we recognise that pattern—I have seen it, too, in my constituency. That is why we are creating a child protection authority, as was recommended in a previous inquiry, to provide effective national oversight to ensure that lessons are learned.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    So far, we have had really good feedback from over 500 town centres that have taken part in the safer streets summer initiative. That initiative finishes at the end of September, so we will have proper analysis then, but it is our priority to ensure that our police have the resources they need all year round.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I agree. We need to ensure that resources are targeted in the places where we need them. We have made significant reforms to police standards already, ensuring that officers who fail background checks, for example, are sacked and that gross misconduct leads to dismissal, but we need to ensure that that is right, proper and appropriate and that our police are out on the streets where we need them to be. I am very happy to have a conversation with the hon. Gentleman about how these incidents are being operated; I will be having that conversation with the mayor, and I have already had it with the commissioner.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    This year, £200 million has been made available to forces to kick-start the delivery of 13,000 more neighbourhood officers across England and Wales. I would be very happy to talk to my hon. Friend about the issues that he is facing. We must tackle antisocial behaviour.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I am very sorry to hear about the hon. Gentleman’s incident; that must have been absolutely terrifying. We need to ensure that our neighbourhood police are responsive and are there when we need them most, which is why we are targeting the resources we have to ensure that we have neighbourhood policing. The response teams must be there when we need them through any means of getting in touch with them, whether it is on the phone, online or in person, and we need to ensure that they are there.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    As we were discussing earlier, targeting shoplifting is an absolute priority for this Government. We have a raft of interventions and we are taking legislative action to protect our retail workers, who have been particularly affected by a massive increase in abuse as well as a rise in crime.

  • 15 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I am happy to meet with the hon. Lady.

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