Drop in Anti-Social Behaviour Incidents in Trial Areas Reported by Police Forces

A police officer using a radio in the UK on Nov. 2, 2011. (David Cheskin/PA Media)

UK police forces have reported a fall in incidents of antisocial behaviour, following the launch of extra patrol programmes in “hotspot” areas of England and Wales.

Reported incidents of anti-social behaviour fell by 36 percent in Blackpool and Brunswick, compared to last year.

Staffordshire police also reported a combined 20 percent drop across five locations in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The slowdown in anti-social behaviour incidents comes after an action plan was announced by the government in March.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan established a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of anti-social behaviour, including a ban on nitrous oxide or “laughing gas.”

The ban on “laughing gas” under the action plan will take effect on Nov. 8.

Nitrous oxide will become an illegal Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

“Both users and dealers will face the full force of the law for their actions,” Crime and Policing Minister Chris Philp said last week.

Other forms of anti-social behaviour include dealing or using drugs in the street, vandalism, intimidation of the public by gangs, begging, and use of an imitation weapon like a BB Gun in a public place.

Under the plan, the government invested £20 million across 16 areas in England and Wales to support “hotspot” police and enforcement patrols.

Two pilot programmes, Hotspot Policing and Immediate Justice, were launched in these areas and scaled up in 2024.

West Midlands, South Yorkshire, Essex, Lancashire, South Wales, and Staffordshire saw increased police presence and other uniformed authority figures.

Under the Immediate Justice scheme, trialled in Nottinghamshire, Merseyside, Sussex, Dorset, Northamptonshire, and West Yorkshire, those found committing anti-social behaviour were made to repair the damage they inflicted on victims and communities, as soon as 48 hours after their offence.

Since the launch of the schemes, police forces in Lancashire and Staffordshire saw a drop in anti-social behaviour reports in areas, where extra police patrols had been deployed.

Commenting on more visible policing, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in July that he planned to “stamp out” anti-social behaviour all across the UK.

“Everyone should have the right to feel safe on their streets, confident that perpetrators will pay the price of their crimes,” the prime minister said.

Funding the police and giving the forces more powers is part of the Home Office’s plan to put a stop to anti-social behaviour.

“People up and down the country are sick of feeling intimidated by yobs in their communities and want to be able to feel safe walking down the street,” Home Secretary Suella Braverman said.

More than 250 arrests, 600 stop-and-searches and 1,000 other enforcement actions were carried out as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour in the ten trial areas.

Ms. Braverman said that an additional £60 million—£1.4 million for every police force area in the country—would be spent on crime prevention measures, such as better CCTV, street lighting and local community projects.

The funding, according to the Home Office, will be directly awarded to police and crime commissioners.

There won’t be a need to bid competitively for the money, the government has assured.

Downing Street has also vowed to cut crime and see more burglaries solved. According to the Home Office, police forces in England and Wales must send an officer to attend every domestic burglary.

“It has always been my priority to give police the powers they need to deliver a common-sense approach to cutting crime, which puts the law-abiding majority first, and that’s what this action plan delivers,” Ms. Braverman said.

Greater policing measures and public safety has also been at the forefront of Labour’s agenda.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party has pledged to deploy 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs on the streets to “fight anti-social behaviour and take back our streets.”

Labour reported a 20 percent rise in criminal damage affecting towns on the pre-pandemic levels. The opposition also said that a higher percentage of people say they never see an officer on the beat, compared to when Labour was in power.