Cleveland's ‘feet on the street help to tackle ASB with hotspot patrols
Drug dealing, cannabis farms and off-road bikes are just some of the problems that Cleveland’s hotspot patrols have helped tackle in their first full year.
Uniformed anti-social behaviour (ASB) patrols delivered by local authority community wardens have clocked up a total of 7,685 hours pounding the streets of Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland.
It has resulted in 21 per cent drop in police-reported incidents of ASB in hotspot areas.
Work has included:
- Providing the police with intelligence on two premises believed to be used for drug dealing;
- Identifying a house, which, on further investigation, turned out to be a cannabis farm;
- Supplying numerous intelligence reports about off-road bike use – and potential locations for their storage;
- Helping to obtain a temporary closure order on a suspected Middlesbrough drug den, which had long plagued the surrounding community with anti-social and criminal behaviour; and
- Providing evidence of numerous breaches of a nuisance beggar’s community behaviour order, which landed him in court and led to a lengthy sentence.
Nine of the 19 locations initially selected for patrols have now been removed, as they are no longer considered to be among the worst for ASB. Locations have been replaced with other areas, which have shown increased volumes of ASB, said Cleveland’s police and crime commissioner (PCC).
The patrols are part of £988,500 being invested this year as part of the Government’s Hotspot Response Patrols to tackle ASB.
The ASB patrols are run by community wardens employed by each borough. In their first year, they carried out the following activities:
- Made 109 intelligence reports to the police of suspected illegal activity;
- Were involved in tackling more than 957 incidents of ASB; and
- Took part in 532 enforcement actions, including issuing warning notices.
Cleveland PCC Matt Storey said: “Partnership working needs to be at the heart of how we tackle crime and make people feel safer – and these patrols demonstrate how this works in practice.
“This investment brings together local authorities, Cleveland Police and other organisations to provide wider coverage for proactive activity and enforcement.
“Not only will this help gather more community intelligence, but additional patrols act as a visible deterrent for those considering causing their community harm.”
Councillor Brenda Harrison, leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “Tackling ASB is a top priority for the council. If left unchecked, it can have a seriously detrimental and corrosive effect on the lives of law-abiding residents.
“People who take part in anti-social and criminal behaviour should be in no doubt that we are not prepared to tolerate their activities.
“The hotspot patrols in the Headland and Harbour and Foggy Furze wards are a key part of our response.
“We are pleased to be involved in this initiative alongside the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland.”
Councillor Norma Stephenson, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety, added: “While Stockton-on-Tees continues to have the lowest recorded crime and ASB rate in the Cleveland Police area, the protection of our residents, businesses and visitors is of absolute importance.
“We take antisocial behaviour seriously as we know it can have a profoundly negative impact on our residents, who have every right to feel safe in their communities.
“The Council’s Civic Enforcement Service, which operates from 7am until midnight every day of the year, carries out regular ASB patrols to tackle this problem head on, working closely with Cleveland Police.”