Offenders to clean up vandalism within 48 hours of reports to councils, says Ministry of Justice

Offenders in England and Wales will be made to clean up vandalism within 48 hours of it being reported to the council in a bid to "swiftly deal with" antisocial behaviour, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced.

"Rapid deployment teams" made up of offender will be sent out to clean and clear vandalism such as graffiti and litter as part of the new plans. The MoJ says that the new scheme is aimed at making them "atone for their crimes in a way that benefits the law-abiding majority", while arguing it also "allows the public to see justice being done in their own communities".

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said: “Anti-social behaviour undermines people’s sense of pride in their communities and makes them feel unsafe in the place they call home. That’s why this Government is taking a zero-tolerance approach with our plan to stamp it out. Our plan is working, with clean-up teams not only tackling the corrosive effect of such crimes but also forcing offenders to repay their debts to the very neighbourhoods they have harmed – cutting reoffending and making our streets safer.”

It will be rolled out across the entire of England and Wales after a successful pilot programme in Greater Manchester, the North East, the East of England, and Wales. Members of the public are being urged to reports projects and cases of vandalism for offenders to work on, with a two-day timeframe scheduled from the moment it is reported to the council and passed onto the Probation Service.

Both Labour and the Conservatives have put law and order commitments forward to voters ahead of this year's general election. Labour's shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood MP has criticised the Conservative's government cuts on policing and questioned whether the pilot of the vandalism scheme had actually met its aims as a result.

She said: “The Conservatives have let antisocial behaviour make people’s lives a misery by slashing neighbourhood police and failing to deliver effective community payback. This announcement is very quiet about whether offenders on the pilot scheme actually carried out the promised 20,000 hours in six months.

“They’ve nicked Labour’s policy on clean up squads, as they have no answers on the challenges facing our country. It’s yet another example of a government that can’t deliver justice and has run out of steam."