Following the news of an alleged sexual assault and large fight that occurred at Pier approach on Friday night, Jessica said:
"This is a horrendous incident affecting the young girl and my thoughts are with her and her family.
The issue of violence against women and girls is very personal for me because Bournemouth was very safe when I came down here on holiday when I was younger. My mum never thought twice about letting me go into town with my friends. Now I meet parents who tell me that they are concerned about letting their daughters go to the town. It’s devastating to hear that. I want to make a difference there.
Anti-social behaviour is a huge issue in Bournemouth town centre and we have seen a lot of high profile incidents affecting the town.
I would like to see an increase in police presence in the town but also to give the police powers that they need to tackle anti-social behaviour and to have the capacity to deal with it swiftly and appropriately with, especially sexual assault cases.
In the King’s Speech, we announced measures for a crime and policing bill which will do exactly that – give police specialist training in how to deal with sexual assault cases. That will make a real difference to the experience of the victims of sexual crime.”
Comments