I have recently been contacted by residents regarding graffiti at Larkholme Community Centre, which is causing alarm and distress and worries about attracting further antisocial behaviour, particularly for those who are most vulnerable.

With Larkholme residents contending with awful road conditions, recent power outages, and the unpalatable odour from the Jameson Road landfill site affecting their health, this is sadly another issue on top of many others which are causing local concern and unease, particularly as the scrawled graffiti messaging relates to criminal activity.

There are one million incidents of anti-social behaviour every year, equating to over 2,500 incidents a day. With court backlogs and charge rates plummeting, victims of anti-social behaviour are left in a no-man’s land where they constantly left to log and self-report issues but nothing seems to get done.

Anti-social behaviour needs to be nipped in the bud, not left to fester.

As a party, Labour have pledged to take back our streets, to see crime and antisocial behaviour falling because the root causes of the problems that communities face are being tackled and criminals are being brought to justice.

This means:

• A Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee of 13,000 more officers
• Policing hubs in every town
• New Respect Orders
• New Parenting Orders
• New Fixed Penalty Cleaning Notices
• New criminal offences allowing police to arrest persistent troublemakers and let courts to take speedy enforcement action
• New prevention teams linked up to drug and alcohol treatment, CCTV and safety measures
• New youth mentors working with young people to stop them getting drawn into gangs

However, in the meantime we have to make do with slow police and council action, and I have requested that this graffiti be removed as soon as possible.