Labour vows to ‘take back streets from thugs and thieves’ with 13,000 new bobbies on the beat

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Yvette Cooper has promised to “take Britain’s town centres back from thugs and thieves” by putting 13,000 bobbies back on the beat in communities across the country. The shadow home secretary vowed to rollout an army of neighbourhood police if Labour wins the election In her first major intervention of the general election campaign, Ms Cooper said: “Labour will rebuild safety on Britain’s streets and take back our town centres from thugs and thieves, with 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat in our communities, tough new powers to crack down on those who cause havoc on our high streets, and a mission to reverse the collapse in the number of crimes being solved.” It came as the Labour Party published a damning dossier of the Conservatives’ record on crime. “Labour will put an end to Tory chaos and be a government of law and order, putting the safety and security of our communities at its heart and taking back our streets.” The party is promising to follow the neighbourhood policing approach of the last Labour government, which saw her predecessor David Blunkett roll out dedicated policing teams in every neighbourhood. Without the public’s support, policing becomes less effective and our streets more and more unsafe.” The plan would see Labour bring 13,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat in communities across the country.