09/06/2026
This afternoon, I attended a Home Office roundtable on the misuse of catapults, hosted by the Policing Minister.
I reiterated the need for action to protect communities. Specifically:
• amending offensive weapons legislation
• changing Home Office statutory guidance to give Police greater enforcement powers
• changing Home Office counting rules and making wildlife crime a notifiable offences
• all agencies using their powers to address this
And given the trends on TikTok and SnapChat, I suggested that we could have had a ban on those under sixteen from using social media by now. But the Government didn’t support this.
We heard from a range of national organisations about the matter, including those involved in their sale and running clubs.
I’m not sure where the Government will go next, because there is no timeline for action.
Whilst there is a lot to consider, there are somethings that the Home Office could do that are within their gift that would make a difference.
Locally, our rural taskforce are doing their best to coordinate the response, tackle prolific offenders and work with Beat Officers to support the neighbourhoods affected.
I will raise this again with Ministers so that action is taken on a national level, and continue raising it with Kent Police.
