Rishi Sunak knocks on Crawley doors and visits Horsham pub in General Election trail - This is why

The Prime Minister visited Squire’s Garden Centre in Crawley – and knocked on doors in the local area – before visiting The Dog & Bacon Pub, in North Parade, Horsham, for a Neighbourhood Watch meeting.

The visit came after the Conservative Party promised to recruit 8,000 additional police officers over the next three years if they win the General Election.

Mr Sunak visited Horsham in April to launch a retail crime crackdown – with neighbourhood crime now his focus.

"Our new 20,000 new police officers since 2019 have made a huge difference, with neighbourhood crime down 48 per cent as a result,” the Prime Minister said.

"We will now go further by hiring 8,000 more police officers, each one dedicated to their local community.

"People deserve to feel safe in their neighbourhood.

"More bobbies on the beat and increased powers will give police forces the tools they need to drive down neighbourhood crime even further."

Peter Wood, chairman of the Horsham Neighbourhood Watch Association, spoke to the Prime Minister about how the group is the ‘glue for the community’ between the people and the police.

He added: “We were talking to him about some of the projects we have in place to help reduce crime and help people learn how to defend themselves against crime.

"Everybody wants to see more bobbies on the beat. To live the positive feeling of the community, more policemen and more communication will help. More neighbourhood policing is really the key.”

The Dog & Bacon Pub’s landlords Phil and Kathryn Farrelly also spoke to the media after the meeting.

Kathryn said: “There’s lots of anti-social behaviour, especially in the town centre. More policing is good news. Shoplifting is rife in Horsham."

Phil added: “You read about it on social media everyday. We know people who have been affected by it as well. Unfortunately, it’s a national thing.

"We’re a little bit out of the town here but there’s trouble across the road [at the North Parade Co-op]. The police are there regularly because of shoplifting.

"You hear the same story all the time through the channels were use.”

Mr Sunak said ‘more bobbies on the beat’ and increased powers will give police forces the ‘tools they need to drive down neighbourhood crime even further’.

A post on X from Rishi Sunak’s account this morning read: “If you're a criminal, the law should show you no mercy.”

Katy Bourne OBE, who was re-elected as Sussex Police Crime Commissioner, joined the Neighbourhood Watch meeting.

Her post on X read: “We know we can deliver our share of the further 8,000 police officers because we’ve already delivered in Sussex.”