Tackling anti-social behaviour will be a “key priority” for Liz Truss if she becomes the next prime minister, her campaign has said.
During a visit to a youth centre in Dagenham, east London, on Monday with former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Ms Truss reaffirmed her commitment to have police focus on making people safer.
The foreign secretary is committed to having police forces publish homicide, serious violence and neighbourhood crime rates, while introducing targets for a 20 per cent reduction by the end of this Parliament, her campaign said.
Ms Truss would deliver on the Conservatives' commitment to recruit 20,000 more police officers, and would ensure they focus on frontline policing and not be “overly burdened by form filling”, the campaign said.
“People across Britain want to feel safe on their streets," she said. "They want to know that criminals are being locked up and crime is being prevented.
"They want a government that takes action on tackling anti-social behaviour, which we know will also help improve young people’s life chances.
“I’ll deliver on our commitment to have 20,000 more police officers. More importantly, I’ll make sure our police forces get back to basics and spend their time making streets safer.
“People can trust me to keep our streets safe, make our communities better, and deliver what I say I will.”
Everything you need to know about Liz Truss
Rival candidate Rishi Sunak has also pledged to expand police powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, and crack down on graffiti and littering.
