Safer streets promise in government's flagship crime bill

Police will be given new powers targeting knife crime and anti-social behaviour and be allowed to search homes for stolen mobile phones without a warrant under major legislation to be unveiled in parliament.

The Crime and Policing Bill is at the heart of what the government calls its "Safer Streets mission" and ministers want it to become law by the end of the year.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the bill would take back "our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order".

The Conservatives say the plans have been "copied and pasted from the last government's announcements".

The Crime and Policing Bill pulls together many measures set out in Labour's general election manifesto.

But they come amid questions over whether police have the money to make the government's plan work.

Ministers say that the enormous piece of legislation will target the crimes that communities want prioritised to make their areas feel safer and to bear down on behaviour that has gone unpunished.

The bill includes the government's proposed "Respect Orders".

These court-imposed restrictions will be similar to the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbo) developed in the Tony Blair era, then scrapped by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats coalition a decade ago.

While Asbos were popular with voters, critics say the restrictions often became unworkable or poorly enforced.

The proposed Respect Orders allow courts to impose restrictions on an individual's behaviour, just like an Asbo.

But they would also be able to compel them to attend programmes such as addiction treatment or anger management courses to change their ways.

Under the bill, police gain the power to enter and search a property without a court warrant for a stolen mobile phone, or other items that have been electronically tracked such as laptops or Bluetooth-tagged bikes.

The power means that victims of mobile phone thefts, who are tracking their device while it is in the hands of a criminal, can call on police to recover it quickly.

Other measures previously announced in the bill include:

• Scrapping a 2014 law that classified shoplifting of items worth under £200 as less serious than other retail theft - making them less of a priority for the police.

• An offence of assaulting a shop worker - also a Conservative commitment before the 2024 General Election.

• A new police power to seize without warning off-road bikes or e-scooters.

• A new offence of spiking drinks, separate to current assault laws.

• Giving judges the power to issue a Stalking Prevention Order against a suspect, even if they are not convicted of a crime.

Another already announced power to be added as the Bill goes through Parliament will compel online retailers to alert police to bulk or suspicious sales of knives.

The Home Office says the bill's aims will be delivered by recruiting 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers by 2029 - and the department has pledged £200m specifically towards that.

But some forces have already warned they will have to cut officers this year because of a wider budget crisis.

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC ) said last year that forces faced a £1.3bn funding gap, and the available cash was not being shared evenly between forces due to outdated rules.

The Home Office has since confirmed it is putting £1.1bn extra into policing up to April 2026.

But the NPCC has warned that if it is to deliver the "Safer Streets" plan, forces would need a pay settlement that would help them to attract and retain the best possible officers.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "For too long communities have had to put up with rising town centre and street crime, and persistent antisocial behaviour, while neighbourhood police have been cut.

"And for years too little has been done to tackle the most serious violence of all including knife crime and violence against women and children.

"That is why the new Crime and Policing Bill is about taking back our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order, and giving the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime."

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: "Labour had 14 years to come up with new ideas – but all they have done is copied and pasted what the last government had already announced.

"Labour's funding settlement next year for police forces leaves them £118m short after accounting for salary rises, inflation and the national insurance hike – putting 1,800 police officers at risk.

"Police forces are warning that this will get worse this year due to Labour's inadequate funding settlement."