Conservative MP for Blackpool South, Scott Benton has expressed his deep concerns about an appalling, disgusting crime spree in his constituency, telling Parliament that the ringleader is an 11-year-old boy who is responsible for over 80 different offences, including assaulting a female police officer.
During sessions on Thursday 13th October, Scott Benton addressed fellow MPs and Commons Leader Penny Mordant, telling of the appalling anti-social offences and crimes local residents have had to endure. He agreed that the Police had tried to address these issues by putting in significantly more officers and PCSOs, adding that whilst these were having an impact, they needed much more support from other agencies to deal with the disgusting behaviour from the gang of feral youths.
He explained, ‘Residents in the Talbot and Brunswick area of Blackpool have been plagued by anti-social behaviour in recent weeks, with hundreds of different crimes being committed by a gang of teenagers. The ringleader is an 11-year-old boy who has been responsible for over 80 different offences, including assaulting a female police officer.
MP Benton went further by claiming, ‘Sadly the efforts of Lancashire Police to bring him to justice have been compromised by Blackpool Council’s children’s directorate, who refuse to criminalize teenagers. Can we have a debate in this House regarding anti-social behaviour, the misery it causes to communities and whether the Police have the appropriate powers to tackle these problems?’
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, Tory MP for Portsmouth North, encouraged MP Scott Benton to seek a debate on how to tackle anti-social behaviour saying, ‘I’m so sorry that his community are suffering from this series of anti-social behaviour and criminal activity. He will know that it takes a team of people to redress this situation, it’s about education, it’s about the local authority, it’s about a good policing approach and I think this will be an excellent topic for a debate, and I’d encourage him to apply for it in the usual way.’
