ON-the-spot fines issued to yobs terrorising their communities fell to its lowest level last year, new figures show.
Government data reveals that fewer than 7,200 penalty notices were dished out for acts of public disorder in 2023.
The figure marks a decline of more than a quarter from the previous year and a huge collapse from the peak of 207,544 in 2007.
Last year was the first time since fines for disorder were rolled out that the annual total plummeted below 10,000.
In England the collapse in making thugs pay up has been most stark in relation to harassment, alarm and distress offences.
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Just 17 penalty notices were issued for depositing or leaving litter.
And only 2,386 yobs were punished for puffing cannabis.
Labour today slammed the figures as “disgraceful” and vowed to make cracking down on antisocial behaviour a “central mission” and “priority”.
The party accused Rishi Sunak of “relegating antisocial behaviour to an afterthought”.
Sir Keir Starmer pledged to hire 13,000 extra cops and PCSOs to guard Britain’s streets.
He also promised to use hotspot policing and Zero Tolerance Zones to clamp down on damage, shop theft and street drinking.
Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry told The Sun: "Rishi Sunak does not care about antisocial behaviour because he's never had to live with it.
“He doesn't know what it's like for pensioners too afraid to go out for a walk, or unable to enjoy a peaceful night in their own homes.
“If he knew or cared, he would have made this a personal priority.”
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Ms Thornberry added: “If Labour is elected on July 4th, we will make Britain's streets safe again."