Government funding to tackle anti-social behaviour on Merseyside "too little too late"
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner says the money doesn't make up for 13 years of austerity
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner has welcomed the announcement of additional Government funding to tackle anti-social behaviour and for three youth services in Liverpool, but says the money is “too little, too late” to tackle the issues created by 13 years of austerity.
Minister have announced they will provide two years of funding to Merseyside to introduce new measures focused on punishing offenders of ASB and making them repair the damage they have caused. Additional funding has also been awarded to three youth services in Liverpool.
While welcoming the desperately needed extra money for the region, the Police Commissioner says after more than decade of austerity, today’s announcement barely “scratches the surface” of the issue and does not go far enough to tackle the root causes of offending.
Instead, the Police Commissioner says the Government needs to commit to providing long-term, sustained investment in young people and families across the entire region to prevent ASB in the first place.
There is also still no news on replacing Merseyside Police’s 450 missing officers, despite repeated calls from the region’s Police Commissioner.
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said:
“I always welcome any much-needed additional funding for our region, but today’s announcement is simply too little, too late.
“After 13 years of savage cuts to policing and our community safety partners, the ASB which is blighting our communities is a problem of the Government’s own making. Yet this money will barely scratch the surface. They are trying to put a sticking plaster on a what is a deep-rooted and serious issue.
“ASB is not low level. It has a hugely detrimental impact on our communities and people on Merseyside have told me they want it dealing with as a priority.
“If we are genuinely going to change things for the better for our communities, we need our missing 450 police officers back, so can continue to build back up our neighbourhood teams.
“Crucially, we also need serious, long term, sustained investment in the wider intervention work with partners which is focused on giving young people better opportunities and preventing them getting drawn into ASB in the first place.
“This investment should be provided for all areas of Merseyside, and it should be allocated after proper engagement with local leaders so we can ensure every penny is maximised for the benefit of communities across our region.
“I will work closely with partners to make sure the money we have been awarded is used as carefully as possibly to build stronger, safer communities across Merseyside.”
The plan, announced by the Prime Minister during a visit to Essex on Monday, also includes a ban on the sale of laughing gas.
Mr Sunak, who stressed the importance of "strong communities built on values", said anti-social behaviour is "not the type of country that we are and that is why it is important we do something about it".
Speaking to members of the public, he said: "We're going to ban nitrous oxide. And we're also going to expand the power of the police to do drug testing on arrest for far more crimes and far more drugs and tackle the scourge of drugs."
Current legislation already prohibits the knowing or reckless supply of nitrous oxide for inhalation.
But the Government plans to make it a Class C drug, according to its anti-social behaviour action plan, which could see users facing up to two years in jail and unlimited fines.
Ministers hope to ban nitrous oxide before the end of the year.
It goes against recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which recently concluded it would be disproportionate to bring in an outright ban.