Police officers take to streets in crackdown on anti social behaviour

As part of Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week – Making Communities Safer, Staffordshire Police will encourage communities to take a stand against anti-social behaviour and highlight the options available to those facing it.

In Burntwood and Lichfield, officers will be visiting schools and giving talks around ASB and knife crime.

Patrols will be visible in Burntwood and Lichfield, providing reassurance and engaging with the public, provide crime prevention advice around keyless vehicle thefts and target anyone causing ASB.

Police Community Support Officers in South Staffordshire will visit schools and youth cafes to provide talks to pupils, while officers will run an operation tackling ASB after school and underage drinking on Thursday, coinciding with the last day of school.

Wombourne Boxing Club is also working with officers to target youths in the local area to raise awareness of the impact anti-social behaviour can have on communities.

Throughout the week in Tamworth, PCSOs will be holding community engagement events around ASB at the Castle Grounds on 20, 22 and 23 July.

Officers in Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent will be running an operation during the week targeting the illegal use of motorbikes.

And officers from Stoke-on-Trent will also be working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council visiting different parts of the city each day to tackle anti-social behaviour and conduct rough-sleeper sweeps.

Chief Inspector Laura Morrey, force lead for ASB, said: “We don’t underestimate the impact anti-social behaviour can have on victims.

“Which is why tackling it is an everyday commitment for us and our partners in Staffordshire; we work closely with our local authority colleagues in Community Safety Partnerships for each area.

“We know it’s critical we listen to our communities’ concerns and there are now more ways than ever to tell us if you’re having problems with ASB.

“Many of our officers hold online chats, you can report issues via our social media pages, website and you can also call us on 101.

“ASB is something you’ll see our teams updating about routinely on our social channels and via Smart Alert, our community messaging platform.

“However, throughout this dedicated awareness week we’ll be sharing some snippets of what this work looks like and who is tackling ASB here in Staffordshire, so you know we’re here if you need us.”

Between June 2021 and June 2022, the force recorded 22,569 incidents of anti-social behaviour, a 13 percent reduction compared to the previous year.