I attended a ‘Dare to Share’ session organised by Brixton BID. These events bring together local representatives from business, police, council and Parliament to talk about the issues affecting businesses in the area. The focus of this week’s session was anti-social behaviour, something which is badly impacting businesses in Brixton at the moment.

I was glad to update on two positive measures the government is currently undertaking: the removal of the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifting offences and the creation of a new offence for assaulting retail workers. Coupled with
measures like increasing the number of Community Support Officers, this should help to alleviate the current situation. I emphasised the importance of having a government that will pursue measures aimed at tackling the complex social causes of crime.