Dr Peter Prinsley

It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this important debate. One difficulty we face when discussing antisocial behaviour is that too often we underestimate how serious it is. A group of young people gathering outside a shop, shouting in the street late at night or repeatedly causing disturbances in a neighbourhood might seem like a minor incident and perhaps be dismissed as young people simply being young people. But in my constituency we have seen how serious these situations can become. The former Moreton Hall prep school in Bury St Edmunds, which has stood empty since 2020, is the site of vandalism and fires. Last July, an arson attack on that building resulted in about 100 people being evacuated from neighbouring houses. What might begin as young people gathering around an abandoned building can become something far more dangerous, for those involved and for the wider community. For residents living nearby, that is not a minor matter. Persistent antisocial behaviour erodes the very sense of security that makes a community feel like home. I serve on the Home Affairs Committee and have seen just how important the renewed focus on neighbourhood policing is. This is a real opportunity to change how we approach antisocial behaviour. Neighbourhood policing is about rebuilding relationships between the police and the communities that they serve. It is about having officers who know their neighbourhoods, recognise the warning signs and intervene before relatively minor incidents become something far more serious. That gives residents confidence that when they report antisocial behaviour, somebody listens. Let us move away from the idea that antisocial behaviour is somehow inevitable. It is not inevitable and certainly is not something that communities should simply have to put up with. I am sure that, with effective neighbourhood policing and a willingness to take this concern seriously, we can make a real difference.