PARENTS must step up to stop their kids blighting neighbourhoods with disruptive anti-social behaviour, Sir Keir Starmer says.
The Labour leader issued a ‘war on yobs’ intent on causing misery as part of his crime crackdown, saying: “We’re coming after you”.
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It came as Sir Keir – branded ‘Sir Softie’ by Rishi Sunak for opposing Tory crime fighting laws – plans for communities to deal out unpaid work such as removing graffiti, clearing wasteland or renovating youth clubs.
Sir Keir told The Sun: “Parents have a huge role, schools have a role, the support services have a role. Because we need to intervene and stop this happening in the first place where we can.
“We’ve got to operate at both ends.
“Yes, everything we can (do) through parents helps prevent this in the first place, they already got to have teeth in the enforcement.
Speaking on a trip to Reading, Berks, he added: “One of the schemes that they are beginning to do round here is have police officers go into the primary schools, to talk to children before they get to secondary school.
“Working with school staff, working with parents to try to get that sense of respect, before kids go off the rails.”
Measures he will introduce if he reaches Downing Street include a Anti-Social Behaviour tsar for every area along with Respect Orders to ban offenders from town centres.
Plans are also afoot for Zero Tolerance Zones to crack down on problem behaviour in Britain’s communities – with the power to arrest after any breach.
During his visit, he spoke to local residents at a community cafe who had been affected by issues such as fly-tipping, drug dealing and stabbings but complained about the length of time to get resolved.
The Labour chief said he wants to nip the behaviour in the bud before it spirals out of control saying it was the “first and necessary step”.
The proposed Community & Victim Payback Boards will strengthen community and victim involvement in community sentencing with members nominated by the community and victim’s groups.
He said: “The least that should happen for these communities is for them to see those that are causing the problem, actually having the respect to go and fix the problem.
“I think that will make a massive difference to people who live in the area.
“Also, if those that are putting graffiti on the walls are the ones that haven’t spent their time cleaning it up, I think they might be a bit slower to put it back on there the next week not to go and clear it up again.”
Starmer, who was the country’s top prosecutor for five years, has pledged that “no one will be above the law in Britain” or crime “brushed under the carpet”.
Labour analysis reveals that nearly a third of people feel anti-social behaviour has got worse, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Half of victims don’t bother to report any such crimes over fears offenders won’t face the consequences.
Rishi Sunak labelled Sir Keir ‘Sir Softie’ in April last year after telling MPs that police had been given more powers and sentencing had been toughened up – but all plans had been opposed by the Labour leader.
