Keir Starmer promises to halve crime against women

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to halve violence against women and girls if Labour wins office at the next general election.

In a speech, the Labour leader said he would put domestic abuse specialists in police control rooms, and set up dedicated courts for rape trials.

He also pledged to halve knife and serious violent crime, as part of his five "missions" for government.

Sir Keir said the review, by independent peer Baroness Casey, was commissioned after the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021, showed the need for "behavioural, cultural change" at Britain's largest police force.

In a wide-ranging speech on crime in Stoke-on-Trent, the Labour leader also branded the Conservatives as "soft" on the issue, and attacked current prosecution rates for rape as "shameful".

He said the charge rates for serious crimes, as well as court backlogs, had created "an invitation for criminals to do whatever they want".

Referencing his own childhood growing up "working class in a small town," he suggested the personal backgrounds of ministers had led to "complacency" within government over the issue.

"It's like they can't see the Britain they've created," he added. "Their kids don't go to the same schools. Nobody fly-tips on their streets".

But Conservative chairman Greg Hands said Sir Keir was "taking the British people for fools," adding Labour was "too weak to keep our streets safe".

"Time and time again, they have shown that they do not share the values of the law-abiding majority in this country.

"Only the Conservatives can be relied upon to be tough on crime and tough on criminals."

Although Sir Keir's speech did not contain new policies, he outlined Labour's existing blueprint for tackling crime, including the recruitment of an extra 13,000 neighbourhood police officers.

Labour also wants to establish specialist rape units in every police force, introduce nationwide vetting standards for officers, and strengthen the rights available to victims of crime.

Arguing the crime-cutting drive should also involve health, education and online regulation, he was applauded by activists for repeating former leader Sir Tony Blair's pledge to be "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime".

He also suggested Labour would favour making police more visible outside school gates, saying "more work needs to be done" in this area.

Speaking to the Daily Express ahead of the speech, Sir Keir said he was "not a fan" of using metal detectors, but a police presence outside schools was "hugely important".

He also suggested his party would make it a "specific offence" to groom children for crime.

The BBC has asked Labour for details of how it would measure its new crime-cutting targets.

There are several official sources for crime rates, including recorded crime measured by the Home Office and a crime survey for England and Wales run by the Office of National Statistics.

The party says its definition of violence against women includes domestic abuse, rape, sexual violence,stalking and honour killings.

It says it if it wins power, it would work with experts to identify the "most effective way" to measure its pledge to halve these crimes, arguing current statistics do not adequately capture repeat abuse.

As well as reducing crime, it says it wants to raise confidence in every police force to its highest levels, and improve crime-solving rates.