Police to stop up patrols in Peterborough city centre in summer safety campaign

As well as an increase in visible police patrols, action is also to be taken to target anti-social behaviour as well as other specific areas of crime.

Their work will be supported by stronger enforcement powers for police and local partners, including banning persistent offenders from trouble hotspots.

The aim is to make the city centre streets a lot safer for residents, shoppers, and businesses.

The move is part of a Government initiative that encompasses 500 cities and towns nationally.

But Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes said that concerns about crime and a lack of visible policing in the city centre were issued that had been raised repeatedly with him by local businesses and residents.

And the new focus on Peterborough city centre and neighbouring areas comes after Cambridgeshire police confirmed that an additional 10 police officers for the city as part of Labour’s Neighbourhood Police Guarantee as part of a £200 million investment in policing by the government.

Mr Pakes said: “Improving neighbourhood policing and tackling antisocial behaviour is one of my priorities for Peterborough.

"We all deserve town centres and high streets that we feel safe to walk down.

“I have campaigned over the last year for more police in Peterborough, working closely with local businesses and community groups to make our city safer.

"This investment means a stronger, more visible police presence where it is needed most, and a real boost for public confidence and local businesses.

“This is a down payment on the extra police we need and we are starting to turn the corner on the decline we saw under the last government. But there is much more to do.”

The summer initiative will also support young people, making sure there are activities across the 500 towns for young people to be involved in throughout the holidays.

The Home Office, alongside police, retailers and industry, are also launching a new Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy, which will use shared data to assist in disrupting not just organised criminal gangs, but all types of perpetrators including prolific offenders who are stealing to fund an addiction and ‘opportunist’ offenders.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “High streets and town centres are the very heart of our communities.

"Residents and businesses have the right to feel safe in their towns.

" But the last government left a surge in shop theft, street crime and anti-social behaviour which has left too many town centres feeling abandoned.

“It’s time to turn this round, that’s why I have called on police forces and councils to work together to deliver a summer blitz on town centre crime, to send a clear message to those people who bring misery to our towns that their crimes will no longer go unpunished.

“The fact that Peterborough has signed up shows the strength of feeling locally on this issue.

“Through our Safer Streets Mission and Plan for Change, we are putting officers back on the beat where you can see them and making our town centres safe again.”