Restoring Law and Order, Crawley Observer Column, Wednesday 22nd April 2026

In 2015, at a meeting with our Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner and Deputy Chief Constable, I was informed the police would no longer respond to various forms of anti-social behaviour and low-level crime, in order to prioritise other areas of work. Before leaving, I warned them if they let people get away with low-level crime, things would only escalate.

I was right, but in managing big cuts to their budget by the Tory-Lib Dem Government it seemed like the right approach to them at the time. Things change and police funding rebounded with the Police Commissioner more than doubling their part of your council tax since first elected. To give context, Conservative-controlled West Sussex County Council’s part of your council tax increased by almost two thirds, while Labour-controlled Crawley Borough Council’s part went up by less than a third—inflation over this period ran at 50%, so Crawley residents today pay less for borough services than they did 15 years ago!

Unfortunately, despite all the new money going to the police, frontline officer numbers didn’t return to what they were under the last Labour Government, with far more officers stuck behind a desk. The public is very clear that they want bobbies on the beat, which is why the Labour Government has prioritised frontline recruitment, while calling time on the failed police commissioner experiment which has brought us to this point. Our country is blessed with amazing police officers and PCSOs, it’s time we took the obstacles out of their way.

This week, Parliament will pass the Crime and Policing Bill, the biggest package of measures in decades for restoring law and order and delivering safer streets. The police will have greater ability to act to tackle anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls, more powers to get tough on knife crime and protect retail workers, with new offences to enable us to better protect children and regulate the online world.

That is what is needed: a return to frontline policing, more enforcement technology, and greater powers to act, all from a Government serious about law and order.