A Labour-led country and county will crack down on anti-social behaviour, says Northumberland Labour’s leader.

Scott Dickinson says: “The Tories talk tough and claim to be the party of law and order but the their record shows they are the party of crime and disorder. They cut our police to the lowest level in a generation and cut funding for services that prevent crime from happening.  They are letting down the people they are supposed to be serving

“Northumberland Labour has a strong partnership with the police and crime commissioner and, despite being in opposition in the council, we are working hard to make our street safer.”

Research shows that police in England and Wales are still faced with a £1.6bn shortfall in funding under the Conservatives, and that between 2010 and 2020 thousands of officers have been lost from the frontline.

Latest figures show that this year alone police recorded over two million incidents of antisocial behaviour; the highest in seven years. Even then this is still a fraction of the estimated 13.6 million adults who have witnessed or experienced antisocial behaviour during that same time. This includes incidents of people using and dealing drugs, fly-tipping, vandalism and threatening behaviour.

Scott adds: “In Northumberland we’re delighted that, nationally, the Labour party is campaigning for safer communities, with pledges to crack down on anti-social behaviour and end violence against women and girls.

“Firstly Labour would take money from vanity projects such as the government yacht and put resources where they need to be. Just think of all the money wasted on ridiculous things like this that benefit very few people which could be used to make people feel safer and improve their quality of life.

“Secondly we’d strengthen legal protections for victims of anti-social behaviour to give victims of persistent, unresolved anti-social behaviour the same rights that the Labour Party is proposing to enshrine for victims of crime.

“Thirdly we’d work to end violence against women and girls. We’ve already set out a set of proposals to tackle this epidemic, including increasing sentences for rape and stalking, reviewing sentencing for all domestic abuse, and better support for victims of rape and sexual violence; delivering where the Conservatives have failed to step up.

“In addition we’d also put more police on the beat in our communities and we’d ensure provision of youth clubs and treatment services.

“It shouldn’t be like this – and it doesn’t have to be. Under Labour we’d do things differently and prioritise resources to make our streets safer.”