Knife crime in Sussex up 15% in the last year, as Labour sets out plan for returning police to every neighbourhood after the collapse of law and order under the Tories

Police recorded knife crime in Sussex is up a staggering 15% in the last year, while the number of PCSOs in Sussex has fallen by 136 since the Conservatives took power.

The Labour Party has pledged to put bobbies back on the beat to tackle the sharp increase in street crime on Rishi Sunak’s watch as knife-wielding muggers and prolific pick pocketers operate with impunity. 

Labour is promising to put 13,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat in communities across the country, visible and present in local areas, deterring crime and catching criminals, with guaranteed neighbourhood patrols. 

Restoring safety on Britain’s streets will be a top priority for a new Labour Home Secretary. Cooper will commit to running a “hands-on Home Office”, rigorously and regularly assessing progress against Labour’s missions, lambasting the laissez-faire Conservative approach to crime over successive governments. 

Labour’s plans draw lessons from the last Labour Government’s strong action to establish neighbourhood policing and tackle street crime, but with a modern focus drawing on new technology and data analysis to drive hotspot policing to cut crime. 

Labour says the damage done to policing and the criminal justice system over the last fourteen years means that policing has been unable to respond to the new surge in street crime driven by serious and organised criminals. The decimation of neighbourhood policing, the collapse in charges, and the lack of focus on local community crime have all had devastating consequences for communities, the Party says.

Labour is promising to rebuild neighbourhood policing as the cornerstone of its plans to tackle crime and keep communities safe. 

It comes as data shows a new street crime wave is taking hold across Britain under Rishi Sunak, as half of the public say they never see a bobby on the beat. 

On Sunak’s watch:

• Snatch thefts of mobile phones have almost doubled, from 30,000 to 58,000. 
• Total thefts against the person (e.g. pickpocketing) have soared from 206,000 to 321,000. 
• Robberies have increased by 13 per cent, and by over 50 per cent since 2015. 
• Knife crime has increased by 7 per cent, an astonishing 80% surge compared to 2015, with over 20,000 knife-point muggings every year. 
• The proportion of the public reporting high levels of antisocial behaviour in their areas has reached record highs, with 20 million people experiencing or witnessing it in the last 12 months. 

These steep rises come as enforcement action has collapsed, with arrests having halved since 2010, including sharp drops for thefts, and as the proportion of thieves being punished for their crimes has plummeted. 

Labour has received backing for its plans by former leaders from every rank of policing – the former Chief Constable, Stephen Otter, the past president of the Superintendents Association, Gavin Thomas, and former National Federation chair, Steve White. 

The Conservatives’ decision to slash 10,000 neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs from Britain’s streets since 2015 has “left community confidence in tatters”, Labour says.

Peter Lamb, Labour candidate for Crawley, said:

“People in Crawley have the right to feel safe, but under the Conservatives knife crime is soaring, we have far fewer PCSOs on our streets and the vast majority of crimes are going unsolved.

“Labour has a plan to take back our streets here in Crawley. We will crackdown on antisocial behaviour, bring back neighbourhood policing and ensure that our streets and town centres feel safe for families and communities once again.”

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, said: 

“On Rishi Sunak’s watch, 90% of crimes are going unsolved and knife-wielding muggers, phone thieves and pickpockets can get away with menacing our town centres and neighbourhoods. Ministers have done nothing to tackle the new organised crime wave that is hitting local shops and streets. That is the Tory legacy on law and order, and our communities are paying the price. 

“Enough is enough. Labour will rebuild safety on Britain’s streets and take back our town centres from thugs and thieves, with 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat in our communities, tough new powers to crackdown on those who cause havoc on our high streets, and a mission to reverse the collapse in the number of crimes being solved. 

“Labour will put an end to Tory chaos and be a government of law and order, putting the safety and security of our communities at its heart and taking back our streets”.