Tackling incidents of anti-social behaviour and crime in our town remains amongst my top priorities as a local MP. Everyone has a right to feel safe and secure in their communities, especially in local areas like high streets, parks, and town centres. Unfortunately, a small minority that engage in anti-social behaviour, theft and shoplifting can leave members of the public feeling intimidated and unsafe.
I am therefore pleased that the government is taking steps to make our streets safer by introducing tough new powers, such as Respect Orders, to allow police and local councils to crack down on anti-social behaviour. I also support the £1 billion increase to police funding that has been announced which will help to put 3,000 additional neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers in post across the country within the next 12 months.
I support the government’s Crime and Policing Bill, which will introduce measures to take back our streets and town centres, restore respect for law and order, and will give the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime. It will make provisions in law about anti-social behaviour, offensive weapons, stalking and public order, terrorism and national security, as well as police powers. This includes proposals to tackle the anti-social use of vehicles, such as e-scooters and off-road bikes, which cause havoc in local communities.
I also welcome the government’s decision to provide more support to victims of anti-social behaviour, which will help ensure that the needs of victims are at the forefront of how police and local authorities respond to this type of crime.
On a more local level, Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police are committed to working together to ensure that issues of anti-social behaviour are tackled in the most effective and proportionate way possible. As such, the council has raised the possibility of introducing a borough-wide public spaces protection order (PSPO) to tackle 4 key types of behaviour: begging, street drinking, anti-social use of e-bikes and e-scooters and dog control and fouling. I am interested in these proposals, and I encourage local residents to share their views as part of the council’s public consultation on the following link: www.reading.gov.uk/PSPOsurvey. The deadline for submissions is 7 September.
I would also like to let you know that residents who would like to help shape future strategies to make Reading safer can do so by responding to the annual Community Safety Survey launched by the Council on behalf of the town’s Community Safety Partnership. The consultation can be found at www.reading.gov.uk/2025communitysafetysurvey and is available to complete before 31 August.
During the last year I have held a number of meetings with key figures at Thames Valley Police and Reading Borough Council to ensure that residents’ concerns are being voiced and that crime and anti-social behaviour in the town is tackled effectively.
One of the many topics discussed during these meetings is the dangerous use of e-scooters and high powered and illegally modified e-bikes, which is a matter that I am particularly concerned about. I have been advised that this is a top priority for the local policing team and Reading officers seize more electric bikes and scooters than any other local policing area in the Thames Valley. However, the force recognises that this remains a serious issue, and it continues to work hard to reduce the number of illegal electric bikes and scooters on our roads.
I am running a local consultation to ask residents to share their views and experiences of e-bikes and scooters in our town, the findings of which will inform my ongoing correspondence on this topic with relevant stakeholders. Please share your thoughts on the following webform: https://mattroddamp.com/escooters
Please be assured that I will continue to raise residents’ concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour with the police, council, and my colleagues in Parliament, and I will keep constituents updated on my work on these issues.
