Biggest package of new laws in decades to tackle crime

• The comprehensive set of new measures will tackle antisocial behaviour (ASB), shoplifting and street crime head on, giving the police new powers to take back town centres from thugs and thieves.
• The Bill also includes measures to address the most serious violence and highest-harm offences such as knife crime, violence against women and girls, cybercrime, child sexual abuse, and terrorism.
• This Government will take back our streets and town centres, restore respect for law and order, and give the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime.

The Government is introducing a raft of measures, including brand new Respect Orders and action against shoplifting, as part of its flagship Crime and Policing Bill. The Orders come as shock data shows that Leicestershire Police Force handed down 0 Penalty Notices for ASB in 2023 – a fall from 1,800 in 2010.

Labour will also scrap the previous Government’s ‘shoplifter’s charter’, a law that deprioritised the theft of goods under £200. Statistics show that for the year ending September 2024, there were 7,614 incidences of shoplifting in Leicestershire, around 146 per week, with many going unreported.

The new measures will be supported by the government’s plan to recruit 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles over the course of this Parliament. Leicestershire Police has been granted a 6.3% funding increase to implement these reforms.

Following the announcement of the tough new measures, Amanda Hack said:

“I’ve met with several local stores to discuss the impact of rising crime on them and their staff. Most stores do not report shoplifting immediately, and it’s not prioritised due to the previous Government’s ruling on low-value goods. The reporting process is very time-consuming and can take colleagues away from the shop floor for a considerable amount of time. Where we are now is unacceptable, which is why through this bill, we are removing barriers so our police forces can take action to combat this crime, restoring power to keep our shopkeepers safe and deterring this growing wave of crime blighting our community stores.

I am also pleased that other measures within the Bill focus on supporting victims of stalking and spiking. Currently, Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) can only be applied for when an offender has been convicted and when a protection order was in place prior to their trial. Under our new measures, courts will be able to directly apply protection orders on those who have been acquitted if there is enough evidence to suggest that they are still a risk to the victim.”