Brentwood: Anti-social behaviour falls by 35% in a year

Incidents of anti-social behaviour have decreased by 35.9% in the district of Brentwood in the last 12 months with 267 fewer offences reported.

Brentwood is one of nine districts across the county with an Operation Dial zone – an anti-social behaviour hotspot that has received dedicated patrols.

Officers from Brentwood Community Policing Team (CPT) and Brentwood Council’s community safety officers are on target to complete more than 1,500 hours of high visibility patrols in the area surrounding Railway Square over the course of nine months.

So far, there have been three arrests, 38 stop searches, six people have been given informal warnings and three were handed fixed penalty notices (FPNs).

Essex’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner invested £1.1m to combat ASB in 13 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.

Across all of the hotspot zones, 75 people have been arrested, 232 stop searches have been carried out, 60 FPNs have been issued and 151 people have been given informal warnings.

Across Essex, ASB has fallen by more than 68% in five years.

Sergeant Lauren Sharland of Brentwood Community Policing Team said:

“We’ve been listening to the concerns of the residents of Railway Square and we continue to work alongside the council’s community safety officers to maintain a visible presence in the area.

“Railway Square is in a high footfall area and has secluded walkways and stairwells. We had reports of drug use, unruly behaviour, and groups gathering in the playground. This is not acceptable and, understandably, local people found this intimidating.

“Nobody should fear walking out of their front door at any time of the day or night. My team and our council colleagues have been using our powers to prevent incidents and tackle any problems before they escalate.

“The hotspot patrols have been well received and it’s very encouraging that reports of ASB have fallen by more than a third but it’s vital that people continue to report ASB via our website, by calling 101 or through the council. The more we know about issues, the more we can do to combat them.”

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