The blitz will see increased police patrols and local action to tackle anti-social behaviour alongside stronger prevention and enforcement action by police, councils and other local partners,
Under the previous government, shoplifting soared to record levels according to Labour, with a 70% increase in their last two years in office alone whilst recent data shows that nationally there has been a further 20 per cent increase.
Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, has, with other Commissioners, drawn up targeted plans with councils, police and businesses to support thriving town centres where people feel safe to live, work and visit.
The plans include more officers on foot in high streets, tougher enforcement against repeat offenders, and stronger powers to tackle antisocial behaviour. That includes banning perpetrators from hotspot areas.
Alongside enforcement, the summer initiative includes extra activites for young people across participating towns, helping to prevent crime and support safe spaces over the holidays.
A new Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy will also launch, using shared data to disrupt both organised gangs and individual repeat offenders, including those stealing to fund addiction.
The summer blitz is part of the Labour Government’s Plan for Change, which will also put 13,000 more police personnel in neighbourhood roles over the course of this Parliament, backed by a £200m cash injection in the first year. Lancashire Constabulary will receive its share of that funding this year.
More than 500 towns have signed up to the Home Secretary’s Safer Streets summer crackdown, including 15 different areas in Lancashire.
See below for the 15 towns and streets in Lancashire that have signed up for a police crackdown this summer...
1. Lancashire areas targeted by police
Take a look at the 15 towns and high streets in Lancashire that have signed up to the Home Secretary’s Safer Streets summer crackdown | JTana - stock.adobe.com
