I’m very grateful to everyone who who attended my first community coffee morning on Saturday to discuss concerns around crime and antisocial behaviour.
I arranged this coffee morning after constituents in the Polygon and surrounding area contacted me with their concerns about crime and antisocial behaviour, such as drug-dealing, street drinking, abusive language and theft.
I was very pleased to be joined by two local councillors, as well as the city council’s cabinet member for safer streets, and local police officers to listen to residents concerns and explain the actions that they’re taking and the challenges that they face. A huge thanks as well to homelessness charity Society of St James for attending to help residents understand the work that they’re doing to support vulnerable people in and beyond the city centre.
So what’s next?
After years of declining police presence on our streets, it’s good that the government has committed to boosting neighbourhood police teams and I’ll be doing what I can to make sure that these additional resources come to Southampton. From the conversations I’ve had, it’s clear that residents feel that they’re very much needed.
I’m also pleased that the Government is taking forward the biggest package of measures on crime and policing in decades, including:
- New measures to tackle the worst ASB offenders and stamp out issues such as public drinking and drug use
- Stronger powers to tackle mobile phone thefts
- Ending the effective immunity for shoplifting and introducing a new criminal offence to protect retail workers from assaults
I hold regular meetings with the city’s senior police officers and will be raising the issues that were discussed with me at the coffee morning. I’ll also continue to speak to councillors and other organisations, including charities and drug and alcohol services, about how we can better support vulnerable residents in a more joined-up way.
Stay tuned for news about further events
As your MP, it’s important for me that I find different ways to meet with and hear from people in my constituency about the issues that matter to them. That’s why I organised this coffee morning and it’s why I’m looking forward to organising more in the near future. Watch this space or sign up to my newsletter to be among the first to hear about future events.