Basildon: Anti-social behaviour patrols underway in Elm Green

Extra patrols have been taking place in Elm Green to combat anti-social behaviour.

A zone has been established that covers the residential area and the surrounding retail park following reports of activity related to drug dealing, nuisance bikes and street drinking.

Officers from Basildon Community Policing Team and Basildon Council’s community safety wardens will complete more than 2,000 hours of patrols and conduct dedicated nights of action and community outreach sessions in the next six months.

Essex’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has invested £1.1m to combat ASB in eleven hotspot areas across the county.

The funding is provided by central government as part of their Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy and is designed to deliver high visibility patrols, public engagement, targeted youth outreach and early intervention.

In the first two months of the operation, officers have made 24 arrests, carried out 73 stop searches, issued 30 fixed penalty notices, and given 14 informal warnings across the 11 Dial zones.

Anti-social behaviour has fallen by 32.5% in Basildon in past 12 months, with 992 fewer incidents reports in the year to the end of August compared to the previous year.

Sergeant Harry Shelton of Basildon Community Policing Team said:

“ASB is one of our top priorities and we have increased the number of high-visibility foot patrols in areas where there have been issues.

“Over the last year, we’ve had incidents of ASB - particularly involving under-18s - that have caused disruption and had a significant impact on the community.

“Regular high-visibility patrols have an impact on offending and Op Dial is continuing to show that. The community know the police are there and this is a deterrent for potential offenders.

“Local residents are happy to see us out on patrol and we’ve been keen to use social media to demonstrate where the team have been.

“We have a very close relationship with the council’s community safety wardens. They work alongside us to provide a high-visibility presence and we meet every morning to make sure all concerns from members of the public are being addressed.

“It’s really important that the public continue to report incidents to us. Whether it’s ASB or concerns about drugs, gangs or violence, always report it because it improves our intelligence picture. There is work continually going behind the scenes to prevent criminality and arrest offenders.”

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