Antisocial Behaviour

John Robertson (Glasgow, North-West) (Lab)
3. What recent discussions he has had with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on measures to deal with antisocial behaviour.

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Paul Goggins)
Tackling antisocial behaviour is a central theme of the community safety strategy and a priority for community safety partnerships. The police and other agencies work closely through the partnerships to reduce antisocial behaviour and the fear of crime.

John Robertson
My hon. Friend will be aware that antisocial behaviour is not just specific to Northern Ireland, but occurs throughout the United Kingdom, and devolved Administrations have different solutions for different problems. Is it not time that we got together with the devolved areas and set up a national taskforce under the UK Government to bring together all the good practice to stamp out such behaviour once and for all?

Paul Goggins
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that antisocial behaviour is an issue throughout the United Kingdom, in his constituency and mine and throughout Northern Ireland. He makes an interesting suggestion. Although it would need more than my agreement before such a taskforce could be established, I am happy to consider his proposal, to discuss it with ministerial colleagues and to report back to him. But most important of all is that we must learn the lessons of good practice wherever they occur throughout the United Kingdom.

Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
One of the tests of policing in Northern Ireland and making the police acceptable is how they deal with antisocial behaviour. Does the Minister agree that it is difficult to persuade the public that the police are serious about antisocial behaviour when some senior officers seem to suggest that the police should empathise with gangs of youths rather than deal with them when they engage in criminal acts? In Northern Ireland, antisocial behaviour orders are rarely used by the police. What, in his discussions with the Chief Constable, will the Minister push the police to do to ensure that antisocial behaviour is dealt with?

Paul Goggins
I have regular discussions with the Chief Constable and I had a meeting with him earlier this week when we discussed antisocial behaviour. It is a priority for him and for the PSNI, and he was able to report to me that antisocial behaviour is down by more than 3 per cent. compared with last year. So rest assured that this is a priority for him and the police, but in the end, for the short term—this is relevant to the devolution of policing and justice powers—we can manage a situation where some agencies, such as the police and the Youth Justice Agency, are accountable to Northern Ireland Ministers, but other agencies, such as the Housing Executive and social services, are accountable to locally elected Ministers. But surely the day must come soon—people should have confidence in this—when the system is joined up and accountable at a local level.

Dr. Alasdair McDonnell (Belfast, South) (SDLP)
Does the Minister accept that in my constituency the police claim time and again that a lack of resources, particularly human resources—manpower and womanpower—restricts them in dealing with antisocial behaviour? How will we reconcile that situation? Can we get extra resources into policing, and not only into Belfast, South? This morning, I heard the mayor of Antrim on the radio discussing the same problem in Antrim town. Can the Minister give us some assurance that the resources will be provided and that the police are not simply left saying that they are too overstretched to tackle antisocial behaviour?

Paul Goggins
I do not accept the argument on resources; we have just had a superb settlement on financing policing for the next three financial years. It will enable the Policing Board and the Chief Constable to keep in place 7,500 police officers in Northern Ireland over the next three years.

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that that the police need to be applied and focused at the community level. Indeed, the Chief Constable himself is committed to the development of community policing in Northern Ireland and to working in partnership with other agencies and the community. The police cannot resolve the issues alone; they have to work with other partners. I assure the hon. Gentleman that the PSNI is committed to that.