Focus on crime, crime, crime, PM tells his Cabinet
BORIS Johnson has ordered a massive crackdown on crime following concerns violence and sex offences are soaring.
The Prime Minister yesterday instructed all Cabinet ministers to ensure everyWhitehall department comes up with measures to “make our streets safer”.
He insisted cutting offending was integral to the Government’s mission to revive the economy and “level up” the country.
“Crime, crime, crime is what we want to focus on,” the PM told his weekly Cabinet meeting in Downing Street.
Deaths
He also demanded drastic action to raise the number of convictions for rape following a surge in sex offences above pre-Covid levels.
“We want to see more rapists brought to justice,” he said.
Official data last month showed violence and sexual offences recorded by police rocketed in the previous nine months.
Robbery and theft has also increased since the lockdowns ended but remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Total crime was up by 18 per cent last year, said the regular Crime Survey for England and Wales, with fraud and computer offences soaring by 54 per cent.
Mr Johnson signalled that tackling the issue will be crucial to Tory hopes of winning the next general election, expected in 2024.
County lines drugs gang will be “rounded up” by the Government’s Project Adder initiative, the PM pledged.
He claimed the scheme was “stopping the deaths of young people from knife and gun crime”.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: “We are investing nearly half a billion pounds in the criminal justice system to recover from the pandemic and deliver the swifter justice victims deserve.”