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Antisocial Behaviour
5. Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton, North) (Lab): What progress is being made in tackling antisocial behaviour. [219832]
12. David Wright (Telford)
(Lab): What assessment he has made of measures used to tackle antisocial behaviour. [219841]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Paul Goggins): The national antisocial behaviour survey published on 28 October last year showed that an estimated 66,000 cases of antisocial behaviour were tackled in the 12-month period from October 2003 to September 2004, and ranged from early intervention to court proceedings. Between April 1999 and September 2004, 3,826 antisocial behaviour orders were issued, nearly 20 per cent. of which were issued in the most recent quarter between July and September 2004.
Ms Keeble: I welcome my hon. Friend's reply and would be grateful if he could provide a constituency breakdown of those figures and place it in the Library. Is he aware that the head of the Government's antisocial behaviour unit recently came to Northampton and received a warm welcome from people in Thorplands, who were keen that action should be taken to deal with antisocial behaviour in their area? What is his Department doing to make sure that there is a consistent application of the new powers by local authorities and police forces, and will it make sure that all areas take up those powers and use the orders, giving local communities the benefit of the peace and security to which they are entitled?
Paul Goggins: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her warm welcome, and I am pleased that the Home Office and the authorities in her local area are working well together. That occurs throughout the country—positive relationships are developing. One Home Office initiative is the Together campaign academy, which has made sure that 6,500 local officials are fully trained and know what powers they can use to ensure that antisocial behaviour legislation works in practice. It is one thing to issue an order, but it is another to make sure that it is properly enforced. It is vital that the message goes out: these are serious powers and they need to be used to deal with this serious problem.
David Wright: One of the strands of antisocial behaviour about which people in Telford are particularly concerned is the illegal use of motorbikes, particularly the new small mokes. What work has my hon. Friend done with the Department for Transport to clamp down on that particular form of antisocial behaviour?
Paul Goggins: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who takes these issues very seriously and works with his local authorities to make sure that the fight against antisocial behaviour continues in his area. It is vital that the police take appropriate action to deal with the illegal or dangerous use of a vehicle, no matter how big or small. In the case that he mentioned, it is possible to confiscate such a vehicle if it is used illegally, and I am confident that he will encourage law enforcement agencies in his area to take such action if necessary.
Mr. Colin Breed (South-East Cornwall)
(LD): The fight against antisocial behaviour is often hampered by the lack of fully staffed custody suites, particularly in rural areas. Would the Minister review the availability of such suites, particularly on Friday and Saturday
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nights, so that police are not sent a long way to other custody areas? At such times they are off the streets and cannot return to policing duties in the evenings.
Paul Goggins: The police locally are always looking at those issues, but I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his support for the fight against antisocial behaviour. He was, perhaps, a little late in coming to the fight, but his support is very welcome none the less. It is essential that we make sure that the resources required are available, and that the police use them appropriately in taking out antisocial behaviour orders, developing acceptable behaviour contracts and working with parents to prevent the kind of antisocial behaviour that blights our community, as well as dealing with the symptoms of those problems.
Mr. Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich, West) (Lab/Co-op): My area in the west midlands has been in the forefront of the campaign to get antisocial behaviour orders, and has been helped considerably by the Together campaign. However, I am getting reports that there is a certain inconsistency on the part of the magistracy, particularly in upholding antisocial behaviour orders when there are reported breaches of them. Has my hon. Friend considered holding special antisocial behaviour courts in order to build up the consistency and expertise needed to make the policy fully effective?
Paul Goggins: I can offer my hon. Friend some reassurance. There are now 100 antisocial behaviour courts, and there are prosecutors whose job is specifically to deal with antisocial behaviour. It is important that we have a consistent approach, so I am pleased that he mentioned the Together campaign, as it is an essential way of making sure that we get a consistent approach across the country. There is a Together website and action line. We have had the Taking a Stand awards, which again highlight the important role that local people can play in the campaign. In the end, although an antisocial behaviour order is a civil order, breaching it is a criminal offence that carries a hefty penalty.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con): Is not the Minister's response stunningly complacent? Does he not know that, according to his Department's own figures, there are more than 15 million acts of antisocial behaviour every year—that is, one incident every two seconds? How does that square with his 1997 manifesto pledge to
Paul Goggins:
I do not know whether to take "stunning" or "complacent" as the most important adjective to describe my performance—but let me leave the hon. Gentleman in no doubt whatever that this is an important issue for our communities throughout the country. We know, as Members of Parliament, that it is a serious issue. The Government have put in place the powers and the resources to deal with it. We are dealing with it. People recognise the difference that the antisocial behaviour legislation is making and the action
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that goes with it is improving our local communities. It is about time the hon. Gentleman got behind the campaign, instead of criticising it.
Drug Traffickers
6. Tom Levitt (High Peak) (Lab): What measures he plans to take to deal with drug traffickers. [219833]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Caroline Flint): We are targeting class A drug traffickers at every stage of the supply line, from source to street.We are creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency to bring a new focus to tackling drug trafficking and other forms of organised crime. We are also providing new powers for the law enforcement authorities, including the power to compel individuals to co-operate with investigators, in addition to existing powers to shut down crack houses and seize criminal assets, both of which, I am pleased to say, are proving effective.
Tom Levitt: I am sure that my hon. Friend would wish to join me in congratulating Chief Superintendent Flint and B division of Derbyshire constabulary on two big drugs raids recently, which resulted in the seizure of more than £1 million worth of drugs plus other assets, and over a dozen arrests in two towns in High Peak, New Mills and Glossop. Those arrests would not have been possible without, first, the information coming from members of the public, and secondly, work not just by the police, but with other agencies as well. Can my hon. Friend describe how she will help to promote a joined-up approach across all agencies towards tackling drug trafficking?
Caroline Flint: I am pleased to congratulate the force in my hon. Friend's area on significant operations with significant results. So far in 2004–05, Derbyshire police and prosecutors have obtained 63 confiscation orders with a total value of more than £2 million, and five cash forfeitures with a total value of more than £154,000, so I congratulate them on their success. My hon. Friend is right—it is about the agencies working together. From next year, all agencies involved in asset recovery will benefit from a new incentive scheme—50 per cent. of all the money recovered will be handed back to police and other agencies as a further incentive to recoup even more. We must make sure that we convict people and take away the profits of crime so that they cannot use them to fund their lifestyle or reinvest them in their criminal activities.
Mr. Julian Brazier (Canterbury) (Con): Does the Minister accept that a joined-up approach must include an examination of the demand side of the equation? The reclassification of cannabis has not helped, and the shortage of places for people with dual diagnosis—young people with drug problems and mental health problems—is lamentable. What is the Minister doing to address the demand side?
Caroline Flint:
I know that the hon. Gentleman is sincere, but unfortunately he has got the facts wrong, and as long as people keep distorting the facts, we cannot form a clear picture of how to handle the matter.
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Cannabis use among 16 to 24-year-olds has fallen since 1998 from 28.2 per cent. to 24.8 per cent; the level of use of other drugs is stable, and we need to deal with that. We must ensure that we have not only the will but the resources to tackle traffickers, and the issues around supply and demand. From April, we will invest £1.5 billion to create the necessary places to treat those with dual diagnosis. Around 1,500 offenders a month are currently entering treatment, which is a 54 per cent. increase on previous years.
Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow) (Lab): Does the Home Office recollect that it has had a good deal of evidence from Inter-Parliamentary Union delegations, such as those that I led to Bolivia and Peru and others, and from some of my hon. Friends who have been to Afghanistan, about the difficulties caused by money laundering? People in such countries say, "You western Europeans had better do something about money laundering in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands and heaven knows where."
Caroline Flint: My hon. Friend has raised an important issue. Last week I was in Bulgaria and Romania, where I discussed issues related to organised crime such as drug trafficking and people trafficking. My hon. Friend's question highlights how criminals launder money from their criminal activities through financial institutions or by purchasing property or land. Whether it be on a global level or through our influence in the European Union, we should encourage countries such as Bulgaria and Romania, which want to join the European Union, to make sure that their systems include effective legislation on money laundering. I congratulate Bulgaria on recently passing its asset recovery legislation, which follows the path set by the United States, the UK and Ireland.
Angela Watkinson (Upminster) (Con): In Upminster, two separate shootings have occurred in the past week, and the police suspect that both of them relate to drug turf wars. Will the Minister reflect on that fact, and then will she reflect on the following: gun crime has doubled, this country is now known as the drug capital of Europe, and this Government's drug policy has been an abject failure?
Caroline Flint:
Gun crime is very low in this country. It has increased in recent years, but the rate of increase has gone down, and the number of fatalities caused by handguns has decreased considerably—[Interruption.] There has been an increase in incidents involving imitations. The use of weapons by drug gangs raises some issues, which is why we launched Operation Crackdown this year. We have made sure that not only are drugs seized and drug dealers arrested, but firearms are taken away. For the hon. Lady's information, in the first four weeks of Operation Crackdown, the 33 forces taking part arrested nearly 1,000 people for class A drug supply, closed 42 crack houses and seized nearly £1 million in suspected drug cash, 71 firearms and 86 replicas. We are taking a joined-up approach to that serious matter and, although we are not complacent, we are making progress.
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