Politically Speaking column with Yvette Cooper : Everyone deserves to feel safe where they live

That’s why I’ve been working nationally and locally on action to tackle the problem and to make our towns safer places to live.

When I’m out and about chatting to residents across our towns, or running my local crime surveys, the issue that so often comes up is off-road bikes. Whether they’re damaging the park up the road, keeping the kids awake at night, or just being a nuisance, it drives people up the wall. But most of all, they are just dangerous, putting lives at risk.

That’s why I introduced a new law to parliament which means that police can seize these bikes straight away without having to give a warning first. Before, it felt like one step forward and two steps back. If police saw an offender, they would still have to let them off with a warning before taking any action. These new powers mean that the police can seize bikes straight away, making it easier to tackle antisocial behaviour.

I’ve also had many meetings with West Yorkshire Police – including their off-road bike team and the local neighbourhood police – about why it matters so much. They are now working with Vico Homes to tackle off-road biking on some of our local estates, making sure that parents know how dangerous the bikes are and making sure that tenancy rules aren’t being broken.

The new laws and targeted enforcement are having a real impact. Off-road bikes offences are down 40% compared to three years ago – with more and more vehicle seizures happening in our town centres and communities.

But there is still lots of work to do to make sure everyone can feel safe in our towns. The increase in neighbourhood policing last year as a result of extra government funding has had an impact in our town centres – with extra patrols and enforcement. In Castleford police numbers are up 50 per cent since Labour came into power, and in Pontefract they’re up by a third.

I made bobbies on the beat a national priority because I have always believed that having visible, locally based officers who properly know our towns is crucial to cutting anti-social behaviour and crime. And this year as a result of that focus, the police are also getting new powers to tackle shoplifting, assaults on shop staff and to keep repeat offenders out of town centres too.

For far too long, these kinds of local crimes weren’t taken seriously – they were treated as “low level”. Yet the truth is that tackling these kinds of crimes is vital to strengthening our communities so all of us can come together and support our towns.

Because everyone deserves to feel safe where they live.