Labour’s MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire has promised that it’s ‘time for action’ when tackling anti-social behaviour and shoplifting around the county’s communities.

The Crime and Policing Bill, which is central to the Government’s Plan for Change and Safer Streets mission, was introduced in Parliament recently and begins its journey to becoming law.

It will also include measures to address the highest-harm crimes impacting society, such as knife crime, violence against women and girls, cybercrime, child sexual abuse, and terrorism.

The new bill will:

• Introduce Respect Orders to target persistent troublemakers

• End the £200 shoplifting immunity rule

• Create a new offence for assaulting retail workers

• Deliver 13,000 extra neighbourhood police officers

It places significant focus on protecting high streets. The effective immunity for shop theft of goods below £200 will be scrapped and retail workers will be better protected from assault.

There will also be increased powers to crack down on repeat anti-social behaviour offenders, with new respect orders banning those prolific offenders from our town centres.

Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell said: “After 14 years of rising anti-social behaviour and shoplifting, it's time for action. I want to see our town centres thrive.

“Since being elected, I’ve received countless messages from constituents and local businesses raising concerns about anti-social behaviour and shoplifting - with Tenby and Haverfordwest being the most recent examples.

“I've been contacted by many small, local businesses struggling with the rising levels of shoplifting. They need immediate action to address the crisis, and this bill will provide that.

“Our local policing teams do an incredible job under immense pressure, and Labour’s new Crime and Policing Bill will support them.

“We need action to tackle the issues facing communities here and now; and I know that ending the £200 shoplifting immunity rule will have a positive impact for local shop owners, as many of them have told me how difficult it is in the current climate,” he continued.

Vince Malone who runs Tenby Stores and Post Office and is a member of The Federation of Independent Retailers has been vocal in recent months highlighting on national TV the impact of retail crime.

He hammered home the point that consequences are not being delivered or turned into convictions and spoke about his own experiences of both verbal and physical abuse that he and his staff had received at times in trying to tackle shoplifting.

“I don’t see the consequence…I want to make sure that we have a society that I want to live in, that I want my children to live in and collectively we have all got to work together,” remarked Vince.

Sitting at the heart of the government’s Safer Streets mission and Plan for Change, the new bill will help tackle the crimes that matter most to communities but have been ignored for too long.

Police will also be given the power to seize vehicles that cause havoc to communities, allowing them to deal with the scourge of off-road bikes in public parks and dangerous e-scooters on pavements.