City MP joins police on ground at Easter
CITY MP Stephen Morgan will be joining street pastors patrolling antisocial hotspots across the Easter weekend as part of Operation Nautical.
Mr Morgan will be looking to see how the ‘initiative is working on the ground’.
The Portsmouth South MP has welcomed the operation to help keep communities safe along the seafront as lockdown measures start to ease and the stay at home message comes to an end.
It is a situation of particular concern to Mr Morgan after being contacted by many of his constituents following previous incidents of antisocial behaviour and people flouting Covid regulations.
He said: ‘I know from my postbag the impact anti-social behaviour has on the lives of constituents and I am pleased the police and partners are listening to concerns I have raised on the need for a proactive, joined-up response.
‘In liaison with the district commander and other agencies I am pleased this initiative is being launched now to help prevent the problems we have seen year on year at the Hotwalls, Southsea Common and at other locations in our city’s green and open spaces.’
Mr Morgan has also urged any residents or local business owners who witness antisocial behaviour or the breaking of Covid rules to report incidents to the police.
Mr Morgan added: ‘I will be following this initiative closely and will continue to call on the police and council to do all they can to make sure our communities stay safe this summer.’
Neighbourhood policing teams will join street pastors in proactively patrolling hotspot areas and engaging with members of the public to ‘ensure everyone is staying safe over the summer period’.