Can you take a minute to share your views on crime and policing?

I’m very concerned about what is happening to crime and policing in Houghton and Sunderland South, but I want to know your views.

Across the country 10,000 neighbourhood police officers & PCSOs have been cut by the Conservatives since 2015, and that includes a 43% drop in neighbourhood police here in the North East. 

Crime has gone up but prosecutions, cautions and community penalties have all gone down. Too often when people report crimes or antisocial behaviour they feel like nothing is done. It is the same right across the country. That means that under this Government more victims are being let down and more criminals are getting away with it. 

I believe this isn’t fair on our communities. That is why here in Houghton and Sunderland South I have been working with Kim McGuinness, our Police and Crime Commissioner, and Northumbria Police to call for more police in our town centres and on our streets to tackle antisocial behaviour. But it is also why I’m campaigning nationally for a return to neighbourhood and community policing, with new community police hubs and prevention teams, and for the Government to take action to tackle criminal behaviour and get justice for victims. 

The last Labour Government introduced neighbourhood policing 20 years ago, and now Labour is pledging to bring neighbourhood policing back. 

But I want to know your views. Please let me know what you think and what your experience is of crime and antisocial behaviour in your area. To help build the pressure on the Government to act, please take a few minutes to fill in the survey below.