Tendring: crime and anti-social behaviour continue to drop

Crime and anti-social behaviour continue to fall across Tendring as our officers work with partner agencies to tackle the root causes.

Joint working with Tendring District Council community safety officers and Tendring Community Safety Partnership has played a large part.

Clacton, Jaywick, Frinton, Walton and other coastal areas see their populations double in the summer.

But incidents of anti-social behaviour have fallen by almost 70% in the Tendring district in the past five years. There were 2,608 fewer offences in the year to 30 June 2024 than there were in the year to 30 June 2019.

Crime has also fallen, with 1,893 fewer offences in the 12 months to 30 June 2024 than there were in the year to 30 June 2019 – a decrease of 13.4%.

But, says Inspector Aaron Homatopoulos, of Tendring Community Policing Team, an influx of visitors doesn’t automatically mean a rise in crime and anti-social behaviour.

“Reports of crime and anti-social behaviour have reduced dramatically across Tendring during the past five years but there are perceptions that anti-social behaviour, in particular, is still high.
“We understand the worries of residents when they see so many extra people arriving but often their assumptions, that a group of people may be up to no good for example, are wrong.
“Likewise, rowdy groups may not realise their behaviour can appear threatening and intimidating to people who don’t know them.
“Our officers will speak to such groups to make them aware of the effect they can have on more vulnerable people.”

The work our officers do to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour continues all-year round and joint patrols with Tendring District Council’s community safety officers are just one aspect of that.

Identifying the root causes of persistent offending behaviour is another.

Our work with other members of Tendring Community Safety Partnership is key to this, says Inspector Homatopoulos.

“Where necessary, people will be referred to drug and alcohol treatment charities and helped to access housing and health services support deal with mental or physical health issues.
“Supporting people to address their substance misuse and to find somewhere to live reduces the need for them to re-offend.”

Over the past five years, robberies have dropped by 44.6%, burglaries by 33.8% and thefts of and from vehicles by 49.8%, thanks to targeted operational policing activity.

In Clacton town centre and along the seafront, a public spaces protection order (PSPO) helps police officers and council staff to tackle anti-social behaviour, such as street drinking and begging.

Meanwhile, our community policing and town centre teams 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.

And we also continue to focus on reports of motorbikes being ridden illegally, anti-social behaviour and damage to beach huts. 

Inspector Homatopoulos says that, whatever the time of year, the police want to help residents to stay safe and, along with visitors, enjoy themselves responsibly.

“But if you are intent on breaking the law or behaving anti-socially, we will deal with it.
“Sometimes that means using our powers of stop and search if we have reasonable grounds to suspect you are carrying a weapon, drugs or stolen property.
“Of course, we need our communities to help us to continue to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour by reporting what you know to us.
“We use your information to target our operational activity.”

Report crime and 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.

Report crime and anti-social behaviour online or you can ring 101. Always ring 999 if it’s an emergency or a crime in progress.

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.

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