The police will be able to raid premises based on information from ‘find my phone’ apps and Bluetooth under new legislation designed to crack down on theft and antisocial behaviour.
The crime and policing bill, to be introduced in parliament on Tuesday, will include new measures to tackle “neighbourhood crime” — such as no longer needing a search warrant for premises where stolen items have been electronically geolocated.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “For the last few years, our towns and cities have seen street theft shoot up, as organised gangs have been targeting mobile phones.”
“But it is extremely frustrating for victims when they can see where their stolen phone has gone but nothing is done. That is why we are determined to give police the powers they need to move fast to crack down on these crimes that are blighting our communities.”
The new bill will also prioritise curbing the growing problems of shoplifting and antisocial behaviour. In the year ending September 2024, police recorded more than 490,000 shop theft offences, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous 12-month period, and 1mn incidents of antisocial behaviour.
The bill will in effect end the immunity for shop theft of goods under £200, removing the legislation that makes it a minor offence only tried in a Magistrates Court. There will also be the introduction of a new offence of assaulting a retail worker.
In plans to reduce antisocial behaviour, new ‘respect orders’ will ban prolific offenders from town centres and police will be granted the power to seize vehicles causing “havoc to communities”, including off-road bikes in parks and e-scooters on pavements.
The new legislation will be bolstered by the planned recruitment of 13,000 extra neighbourhood policing staff.
Cooper said the new crime and policing bill was about “taking back our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order and giving police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime”.
The bill will also include measures to crack down on violence against women and girls, economic crime and knife crime.