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Jess Brown-Fuller calls on Government to reverse Conservative cuts to local policing to deal with anti-social behaviour and catapult use
- ethanstorey3
- Dec 3
- 2 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
MP for Chichester, Jess Brown-Fuller, called on the Government to reverse the reductions of Police Community Support Officers seen under the Conservative Government during a speech in Westminster about catapults and anti-social behaviour. The debate was called following a reported rise in the use of catapults being shared on social media, and concerns about the police response to these incidents when reported.
Jess highlighted a series of shocking incidents reported by Selsey and Chichester residents, including teenagers using catapults to target waterfowl. Constituents told her they feared that, even when such behaviour was reported, it would go unpunished due to a lack of visible policing.
Jess urged the Government to look at the number of Police Community Support Officers, which fell by 4,500 nationally between 2015 and 2025. According to Jess, this is putting pressure on local services who already face a lot of desk time and administration, keeping officers away from patrolling or dealing with anti-social behaviour.
She called on the Government to reverse these trends, supporting local police forces to be a visible and effective service, and to create a National Online Crime Agency to take responsibility for certain crimes away from local forces. Jess also asked the Government to look at the declining number of police desks, and to consider either reopening them or using community hubs to host police desks.
After the debate, Jess said:
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home and walking down their own streets, and that applies to the wildlife that we live with as well. I’ve heard sickening reports of cases in Chichester where individuals have used catapults to harm wildlife.”
“Of course, we need a society-wide approach to stamping out this behaviour, but we also need stronger local policing to deal with it. Currently our police are overstretched, under-resourced and unable to focus on the crimes that affect our communities the most.”
“The Government must take immediate steps to reverse the trends we saw during the previous decade of Conservative government, ensuring local police services get the support they need to tackle anti-social behaviour.”
