This week I found myself to be the subject of some phishing scam, threatening my arrest if I did not press ‘1’ on my phone. I didn’t, but phoned Action Fraud instead. In a split second of panic on receiving a threat, on what could have sounded like a plausible reason, I could have made a different, costly choice.

Rarely do we see the chap in a stripy jumper and balaclava carrying his swag bag; crime is subtle and costly. It plays on fear, manipulation and is pervasive on our phones and devices.

Never respond, never give out your details. Instead contact Action Fraud or your local police. Policing needs to ensure that everyone can get a step ahead of these cyber-criminals and are protected by call filter services, bank account protections and software firewalls. Too many of my constituents have fallen prey to their tactics.

Good prevention is good policing. This is why Labour wants to get upstream in keeping everyone safe. By the time you need to call 999, it is too late, harm has occurred to people and property.

Crime has soared over the last decade, violent crime more than doubled from 8,156 in 2010 to 16,559 in 2020 here in North Yorkshire alone, and as we come out of lockdown, it is expected to worsen again. Cuts have serious consequences, and this is why Labour is making the case, ahead of May’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner elections, that we don’t just need more police to patrol our streets, but working behind the scenes detecting the advances in modern criminal behaviours and activities.

A third of crime is domestic. This means that if greater community interventions were prioritised, significant reductions in crime could be achieved. Over the last few weeks, I have been debating the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, highlighting significant flaws in our justice system, but with record numbers of trials now in abeyance, currently standing at 57,000 for the Crown Courts alone, a decade of failure to address the weaknesses in the system has meant that there is no resilience in the light of the pandemic.

Justice delayed is justice denied; all the more reason to invest in prevention online and in our communities.

However it is important to understand that behind every statistic, there is a person who has seen harm to them or their property. The experiences of victims of crime must reshape the system and this is why, here in York, Labour are focused on harm reduction.

Take substance misuse. Diverting people away from dealing and use into education and work is better for them, but means that people do not get sucked into the ever darker world manipulative crime circles encourage. I have been working with Thames Valley Police who have taken it upon themselves to divert people away from crime. The testimonials are powerful, when people who would have been caught up in ‘county lines’ dealing are instead caught up in taking an apprenticeship and for the first time in their lives have self-worth. Better still, crime rates have plummeted by over 80 per cent.

Youth services, severely cut, have a core role in helping young people grow in confidence in their identity, and draw people away from those who seek to exploit and groom them. Over the last decade 70 per cent of youth services, UK-wide, have lost their funding and yet it has been calculated that for every £1 invested, there is a saving of £7 to the state. Imagine the difference Labour’s statutory youth service would make to policing and community safety.

This has been the most challenging year for our police. Often not given the tools to implement the Government’s guidance, or having to strike the balance between keeping communities safe while ensuring that the relationship with local people is built on education and encouragement.

We don’t need the authoritarian arm of state to extend, we just need local solutions to be put in place which understand the cost of crime, and understand the consequences of not making the right investments. Labour’s commitment to invest smartly in policing will ultimately result in safer communities. We cannot continue on this trajectory of ever more crime, it is time for a change in direction and May 6 gives you that opportunity to start a different journey.

Rachael Maskell is the Labour MP for York Central. Her opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Press