Sam Carling Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire
Sam Carling MP Calls for Tough Action on Antisocial Behaviour in Peterborough
- Labour’s new Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to seize and crush nuisance off-road bikes and e-scooters.
- 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs to be recruited to improve community safety.
- Sam Carling MP raises local concerns directly in Parliament, pushing for immediate enforcement and prevention measures.
Sam Carling, MP for North West Cambridgeshire, has called for urgent action to tackle antisocial behaviour in the constituency, particularly the dangerous and reckless use of off-road bikes and e-scooters.
Residents across Peterborough have repeatedly raised concerns about illegal riding on pavements and through public spaces, posing a significant risk to public safety.
Speaking in debates in Parliament over the last week, Carling highlighted the frustration of local communities who feel unsafe in their own neighbourhoods due to reckless riders:
“My constituents regularly raise concerns about their safety when they are out and about, given the prevalence of off-road bikes being used in antisocial and illegal ways, particularly on pavements and footpaths. Such bikes are a particularly significant issue for elderly people, who might be less mobile and are therefore more likely to be involved in a collision with one.”
“I also get regular reports of antisocial behaviour in Pleasure Fair Meadow car park and Stanham Way, relating to the screeching of tyres from motorbikes, loud music until the early hours of the morning and constant instances of drugs and antisocial drinking. We need to take this sort of antisocial behaviour seriously wherever it’s happening and local residents shouldn’t have to put up with it.”
For too long, these issues have been dismissed as low-level antisocial behaviour, but Labour’s new Crime and Policing Bill will ensure immediate enforcement action can be taken. Under the proposed measures, police will no longer be required to issue a warning before seizing and destroying nuisance vehicles, making it much easier to prevent repeat offending.
Labour’s plan to recruit 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs will also strengthen enforcement and provide a visible police presence to deter crime. Carling welcomed this move, emphasising that local police need both the resources and the powers to act.
While responding to the debates, Rt Hon Diana Johnson MP, Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention, said:
“As part of our plan for change, we are delivering a wide-ranging safer streets mission. A central part of that mission is tackling antisocial behaviour, with a particular emphasis on improving the police response, alongside tougher powers to tackle perpetrators.”
“Over the last decade, we have seen a decline in neighbourhood policing to such an extent that many of the bonds of trust and respect between the police and local communities have been damaged. Through our neighbourhood policing guarantee, we will restore patrols to town centres and ensure that every community has a named neighbourhood officer to turn to.”
“Under these new measures, persistent adult perpetrators of antisocial behaviour will face tough restrictions such as bans on entering the areas where they have been behaving antisocially, such as town centres or other public places. Anyone found breaching a respect order could also face being arrested and could end up behind bars.”
Notes:
Full speeches can be accessed here: