Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce anti-social behaviour by people on motorbikes in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles, including motorbikes, involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.
On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles such as motorbikes, which have been used anti-socially.
Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support campaign organisations in promoting awareness of the dangers of knife crime in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.
As part of this mission, we have launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime. The Coalition brings together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for all.
The Coalition includes representation from charities who work across Surrey and provide advice and expertise to the Government as it takes action to halve knife crime in a decade.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the support available to police who attend traumatic callouts in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The health and wellbeing of our police is a top priority for the Home Office and it's essential that those who have faced traumatic incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving. We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service who have developed an evidenced-based trauma support model which is now available to forces.
NPWS have also created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service is piloting a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.
It is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers to effectively manage their workforce, ensuring the appropriate health and wellbeing provisions are in place for their officers and staff.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce shop theft in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 20% on year up to December 2024. We will not stand for this.
We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime, to crack down on the organised gangs targeting retailers.
We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.
Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will repeal the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, which means it can only be tried a magistrate’s court. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
I chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.
The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the safety of town centres during summer 2025 in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing. Surrey Constabulary has been allocated £2,588,427 and will deliver an increase of 25 police officers by 31 March 2026.
The Home Office is also providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. Surrey Police will receive £1,000,000 of this funding.
In addition to this, the Safer Streets Summer Initiative is a government-led initiative to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), street crime and retail crime in town centres this summer, and to increase local confidence through increased collaboration at a local level. It will be led by Police and Crime and Commissioners, in partnership with Chief Constables and other key local partners such as councils, schools, health services, business, transport and community organisations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of unauthorised caravan encampments in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the Home Office sets the overall legal framework, local authorities retain the powers needed to manage unauthorised encampments. Where enforcement is required, it is an operational matter for the police, working with local authorities.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle levels of anti-social behaviour involving catapults in Surrey.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are clear that catapults should not be used for illegal or anti-social purposes, whether against wildlife, people or property.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour, including the misuse of catapults.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to relevant agencies to tackle ASB, including introducing new Respect Orders to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders.
The police have powers relating to the use of any item as an offensive weapon, including a catapult. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, the police also have powers to deal with cases where wildlife is attacked, including cases involving the misuse of catapults.
We continue to keep all relevant legislation under review in the interest of public safety.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against police officers in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Our police officers and staff perform vital roles every day in serving and protecting the public, often in challenging and dangerous circumstances, we will not tolerate them facing violence and abuse.
The Government is committed to supporting Chief Constables in meeting their responsibilities to protect their officers and staff. We are determined that the Police Covenant makes a tangible difference and have provided ongoing funding for the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS). The NPWS ensures police officers and staff have access to the health and wellbeing support they need, including providing personal and familial support for those who have been victims of assault.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce car-related crimes in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and are working with the automotive industry and the police to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. We have also introduced a provision in the Bill which allows the police to enter and search premises for specific stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to a particular premises, without the need for a warrant. This includes vehicles.
In addition, the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group is focusing on steps to prevent and deter theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce car theft in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and are working with the automotive industry and the police to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. We have also introduced a provision in the Bill which allows the police to enter and search premises for specific stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to a particular premises, without the need for a warrant. This includes vehicles.
In addition, the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group is focusing on steps to prevent and deter theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.