Tendring: Tackling the causes of offending sees big drop in anti-social behaviour

Our community policing and town centre teams work closely with Tendring District Council anti-social behaviour patrol officers and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour across the district.

In Clacton, they predominantly patrol the town centre and the seafront where there is a public spaces protection order (PSPO) which lets us tackle anti-social behaviour, such as street drinking and begging, which puts people off coming to the town centre.

This work has led to a 31% drop in anti-social behaviour in the 12 months to 30 June with 693 fewer offences recorded than during the previous 12 months.

And the teams are determined to continue this downward trend. Officers have been conducting high-visibility uniformed patrols and plain clothes deployments in Clacton town centre and the surrounding areas as well as Harwich and across the district.

Activity in Clacton and Harwich has focused on tackling reports of motorbikes being ridden illegally, street drinking, anti-social behaviour and damage to beach huts. 

Tendring District Commander Chief Inspector Ella Latham says:

“Anti-social behaviour has been falling steadily across our district but, of course, we know we still have work to do.
“We know persistent anti-social behaviour blights people’s lives and, if enforcement action is needed, we will take it. This includes issuing community protection warnings and community protection notices if the anti-social behaviour continues.
“The public spaces protection order in Clacton town centre helps because we can quickly move people on if they are causing a nuisance.
“But we want to get to the root causes of persistent offending, so we work closely with partner agencies to get people the help they need to divert them from this behaviour.
“Our police officers and police community support officers go out on joint patrols with the district council’s anti-social behaviour patrol officers.”

Chief Inspector Latham says fear of anti-social behaviour rises in the summer months.

“The influx of holidaymakers makes some people believe that anti-social behaviour will automatically result but that is not always the case.
“The majority of people who live, work in or visit us here are nice and well-behaved. However, sometimes people may expect something to happen, even though it doesn’t. For instance, if someone sees a group of young people, they may think they are carrying knives or taking drugs.
“So it’s a case of working with them to educate them about people’s perceptions, to let them know that if they are sitting around on a hot day with their hoods up, or with music blaring from their phone, some people may see it as intimidating or anti-social.
“Often, they simply won’t have realised how their behaviour affects others and, when we tell them, they stop doing it.”

Report anti-social behaviour to us

Anti-social behaviour can affect not just individuals but entire communities, too. If you're experiencing anti-social behaviour or you see or hear about anti-social behaviour issues, we want you to report it to us so that we can work with our community partners to resolve community issues.

You can report anti-social behaviour online.

If you’ve been a victim of anti-social behaviour, or any crime, and are feeling mentally impacted by it, contact Victim Support on 0808 1689 111.

At Essex Police, we value difference, and know that we’re strongest when we all work together.

If you share our values and want to protect and serve our communities, why not join us?

If you think you could protect and serve the people of Essex, either as a police officer, member of staff or volunteer, why not see if you fit the bill?

Find out more by visiting our careers page.