British PM Johnson ends COVID isolation with launch of tougher crime plan

Alongside getting more police officers out on streets and making local forces more easily contactable, the plan includes access for the public to scrutinise results, with league tables for emergency 101 and 999 call answering times. It also promises that each neighbourhood would have contactable, named police officers, who know their area and are best placed to ensure that persistent crime and anti-social behaviour is tackled.

"When I first stood on the steps of Downing Street as Prime Minister, I promised to back the police and make people safer, because we cannot level up the country when crime hits the poorest hardest and draws the most vulnerable into violence,” said Johnson, who had been in a 10-day quarantine after being alerted by the country's health service as a close contact of UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for COVID-19 and has since recovered from mild symptoms.

"That is why my government has remained unstinting in its efforts to protect the British public and this plan delivers a fresh commitment, as we emerge from the impacts of the pandemic, to have less crime, fewer victims and a safer society,” he said.

A particular focus of the new crime fighting plan is on early intervention, prevention and practical measures to deliver real results across communities, and to tackle serious violence and neighbourhood crimes.

"I am absolutely determined to cut crime and deliver a safer society for the public, and the Beating Crime Plan shows how the government is going to do just that," said UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.

"We’re putting 20,000 new police officers on the street, equipping them with new powers to catch criminals and take away knives, and shutting down drug gangs who exploit children and the vulnerable to make money. This plan sets out a clear path for a better future for the British public one with less crime, fewer victims, and a safer society for all,” she said.

Among the measures to be introduced include the use of electronic monitoring so burglars and thieves will have their whereabouts monitored 24 hours a day upon release from prison. It will also involve stop and search powers relaxation to empower police to take more knives off the streets and trialling the use of alcohol tags – which detect alcohol in the sweat of offenders guilty of drink-fuelled crime on prison leavers in Wales.

Getting offenders to clean up streets, alleys, estates, and open spaces is among the measures to make unpaid work more visible to ensure justice is seen to be done.

The UK government said the Beating Crime Plan recognises the need to address the underlying causes of crime, with new tactics and investment to deal with alcohol and the scourge of illegal drugs, which are major drivers of burglaries and violent crime. Last year, almost half of all homicides were drug-related.

The UK Home Office said an increase of testing upon arrest marks the first step in work to challenge drug misuse, reduce demand and change the perceived acceptability of using illicit drugs which impact communities and fuel serious violence.