Martin took part in the Solicitor General's Question Time in the House of Commons today to raise the issue of prosecutions for misdemeanours.
You can read Martin's question to the Solicitor General and the minister's reply below:
Martin Vickers
What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of perpetrators of misdemeanours.
The Solicitor General
The Government are committed to tackling criminality of all types. We have set out our plan for change, which includes putting 13,000 more police officers and PCSOs on the beat, and bringing back neighbourhood policing. Next year, the Crown Prosecution Service will receive an additional £49 million of funding to help recruit and train more prosecutors, enabling them to focus on securing justice in all cases, from minor offences right through to the most serious crimes.
Martin Vickers
I thank the hon. Lady for that reply and I appreciate the additional resources, but what my constituents, and I am sure constituents up and down the country, want to see is robust effective policing and prosecution of what is low-level crime in the great scheme of things, but which can be a real curse, particularly on our housing estates. Can the hon. Lady give an assurance to my constituents that there will be real robust and positive action?
The Solicitor General
I can give that assurance. The hon. Gentleman calls this kind of crime low level. I know from experiences in my constituency that these issues can affect daily life and really blight communities, so yes he has my assurance.
