Making Oldham a Safer Place to Live

At the election, I promised to make Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton a safe place for everyone to live. Today, I will vote for the Crime and Policing Bill to improve local services and fulfil the promise of a safe community.

The impact of reducing neighbourhood policing, austerity measures, and cuts to public services under the Tories can not be underestimated; leaving us with rising crime, increasing antisocial behaviour, and a sense of insecurity in our community.

The Crime and Policing Bill will make a fundamental shift towards making our streets safer, our community more secure, and ensuring that the most vulnerable among us have the protection they deserve.

It covers a wide range of issues, including violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour, offensive weapons, retail crime, child exploitation and abuse, sexual offences, fraud, police powers, and terrorism and national security. The Bill includes measures such as:

Largest investment in neighbourhood policing in a generation through the recruitment of 13,000 new police staff to support local communities.

Introducing new powers for the police to crack down on theft and burglaries.

Cracking down on retail crime after the alarming rise in violence against workers.

“Respect orders” and tougher enforcement on issues like public disorder to allow the police to curb antisocial behaviour.

Creating a new offence of possessing a weapon with intent to cause unlawful violence or serious property damage, increasing the penalties for the sale of offensive weapons.

Criminalising the possession or supply of electronic devices for use in vehicle theft, criminalising the possession or supply of ‘SIM farms’ (used for sending scam texts and calls), and criminalising the possession or supply of technologies that can be used in online fraud.

And it goes further to protect children and young people. Real action after years of inaction;

Implementing the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, by introducing mandatory reporting and an aggravating factor of grooming behaviour.

A new offence of child criminal exploitation and establishing a new civil preventative order designed to prevent child exploitation.

Introducing new offences around the taking of intimate images, a standalone offence of administering a harmful substance (including by spiking), and giving victims of stalking the right to know the identity of their perpetrator, and restricting the ability of sex offenders to change their name where there is a risk of sexual harm.

And we recognise that early intervention is critical, especially when it comes to giving young people positive choices and activities to reduce the likelihood of drifting into bad behaviour.

𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 “𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚”! 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙.

And we’ve seen how young people from our town and others, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can be groomed into gangs, drug dealing, and county lines operations. I have consistently spoken out on this growing issue and I welcome Labour’s commitment to disrupt criminal networks and protect vulnerable young people.

That is why investment in supporting families through Early Intervention Hubs is also important, bringing together police, schools, and social services to spot the warning signs early and provide the right support before problems escalate, alongside investment in Violence Reduction Units to tackle and disrupt organised crime and gangs.

After years of police cuts and a hollowing-out of local services, Labour is taking action. This Bill represents a real shift towards community safety, focusing not just on enforcement, but on prevention, support, and rebuilding trust in policing.

I am proud to support this landmark investment in safer streets, stronger neighbourhoods, and better opportunities for young people—and I am proud to vote for this Bill to make our communities safer.