🚲🚫 Antisocial Behaviour and Illegal Bikes

• Debate Focus: The debate centered on addressing the antisocial behavior and illegal use of off-road bikes, highlighting their impact on communities and discussing proposed legal measures to tackle these issues.

• Community Impact: Members shared numerous stories of how illegal bike usage negatively affects residents, including disruption of public spaces, noise pollution, and safety concerns. Examples ranged from bikes damaging parks to intimidating residents on streets and pathways.

• Proposed Legislation: The upcoming Crime and Policing Bill was frequently mentioned, with a focus on empowering the police to seize and possibly crush bikes used antisocially without the need for a prior warning. This is seen as a critical step to curb the misuse of off-road vehicles.

• Policing and Resources: There was a consensus on the need to strengthen neighborhood policing, with Labour’s pledge to increase police numbers being highlighted as a way to enhance community safety and gather local intelligence on offenders.

• Community Solutions: Various local initiatives were discussed, such as providing designated areas for legal off-road biking, setting up hotlines for reporting incidents, and using technology like drones to trace illegal bike activity.

• Cross-Party Concerns: While the debate was dominated by Labour MPs, there was acknowledgment that this is a widespread issue affecting communities across different regions and political constituencies, with calls for immediate and effective action.

• Minister’s Response: The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention emphasized the government’s commitment to addressing the problem through the Crime and Policing Bill and by increasing police presence in communities. She highlighted ongoing collaboration with other departments to improve road safety and tackle related criminal activities.

The session primarily focuses on the issue of antisocial behavior and illegal use of off-road bikes across various constituencies. The overall tone of the session is collaborative, with Members of Parliament (MPs) sharing similar concerns and advocating for stronger action against the misuse of off-road bikes. The level of disagreement is relatively low as the majority of the contributions support the measures proposed in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill and emphasize the need for increased police resources and powers to tackle the problem effectively.

Despite the general agreement, there are instances of mild disagreement, particularly regarding the effectiveness of past measures and the allocation of police resources. For example, the MP for Telford (Shaun Davies) challenges the MP for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) to apologize for the perceived inaction of the previous Conservative government, which indicates a point of contention. However, the disagreement remains more of a critique rather than a significant dispute.

Another minor point of disagreement is when Matt Vickers suggests that there were more police officers on the streets under the previous administration, a claim contested by the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson), who argues that the number of police officers had decreased due to Conservative policies. This exchange introduces a political dimension to the debate but is still not central to the main topic of the session.

The session concludes with strong support for the proposed legislative changes and enhanced police efforts, with only minor disagreements on past performance and resource allocation, warranting a rating of 2 on the disagreement scale.