Positive strides being made to crackdown on anti-social behaviour in Peterborough, insists Police and Crime Commissioner
Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston has welcomed the positive strides being made to crack down on anti-social behaviour in Peterborough.
His comments come as National Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week is marked up and down the country.
The week, which runs from 29th June to 5th July, highlights the impact ASB can have on communities and the importance of partnership working to strengthen communities.
Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour is one of five key pillars in the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan which is shaped by the views and experiences of residents across the force area.
The commissioner works in conjunction with the area’s six Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) and other agencies to coordinate activity to make communities safer and more resilient to harm, focusing on the priorities that matter most to residents.
CSPs – made up of local partners including councils, police, fire and rescue and community representatives – can address local issues that policing cannot solve alone such as fly-tipping, bike theft and vandalism.
Across the life of his Police and Crime Plan, the commissioner has invested almost £1m into dedicated Problem-Solving Coordinator posts in each of the six CSP areas to support partners to tackle the root causes of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour.
Darryl said: “It is encouraging to reflect on our success over the past year and take stock of the dividends from our investment.
“Specialist resources, community-level problem solving and increased visible and proactive enforcement are undoubtedly making a difference, helping to reduce risk and harm, improve feelings of safety and confidence and ensure more offenders are held accountable for their actions.
“Improving public safety is a joint responsibility. Partnerships are everything in public safety and much of our success is testament to a partnership ethos and the coordination of vision and efforts to tackle local issues of concern at their roots to prevent problems from escalating or happening in the first place.
“I want to recognise everyone involved from our frontline officers, staff and volunteers to our community safety and justice partners who play a vital role in delivering a safer and stronger Cambridgeshire. There is much more to do, but the public can rest assured we will leave no stone unturned in our mission to protect our people and help our county to thrive.”
Recent successes, according to the commissioner:
In Peterborough, reports of car gatherings, drug taking, loud noise and fly-tipping were causing misery for elderly and vulnerable residents. Through a partnership approach, the residents were supported to record their concerns, and temporary CCTV cameras were installed to deter crime.
Revving engines, inappropriate speed and anti-social driving came to the attention of Fenland CSP who immediately worked with the Fenland Neighbourhood Policing Team to apprehend those causing the disruption. As a result, three Section 59 Police Reform Act warnings were issued for ASB driving, alongside one Section 165 seizure for a motorbike with no insurance, the seizure of an electric scooter and the issue of a ‘fail to stop’ motorcycle offence.
In Huntingdonshire, diversion staff, who work with young people, help tackle ASB in hotspot locations. Through working closely with agencies, particularly police and local CCTV teams, Huntingdonshire District Community Safety team gathered evidence for issues around anti-social driving in Huntingdon Town Centre. As a result, those causing disruption were issued with relevant warnings by local Neighbourhood Police.