Alison Bennett
Main Page: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)Department Debates - View all Alison Bennett's debates with the Home Office
(3 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Sarah Jones
I am happy to look into whether respect orders might cover the crimes that the right hon. Member talks about and help in this space. Of course we need to ensure that we have more police in our communities, and we will always look at the legislation to see whether there is more that we can do to come down hard on these kinds of behaviours, which make our constituents and our communities really not feel safe in their own environment. We will continue to work on that.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
I would like to add to what the right hon. Member just said about car cruising. Along the A2300 approaching Burgess Hill, car cruising is causing misery to residents, with noise waking people up through the night. It is really intimidating more rural residents as they try to come from rural lanes on to the A2300. I am told by one local farmer that people are coming from as far afield as the Netherlands to get involved. A public space protection order is in place and Sussex police are doing what they can. Please, what else can the Government do to deter and break up illegal car cruising?
Sarah Jones
I recognise what the hon. Member describes. I have talked to the police about what more we can do in this space. I encourage everybody to report crimes as soon as they see them, because the police can put automatic number plate recognition cameras in place to retrospectively give people fines if they are breaking the law by car cruising. I know the police are looking for the resources to ensure that they can tackle these things. More neighbourhood policing, looking at shift times, and all these things can help.