Will Spring bring an increase in anti-social behaviour?
Spring need not bring an increase in anti-social behaviour – that is the message from Winchester City Council’s Community Safety and Neighbourhood Services Team.
As the evenings grow lighter and the weather warms up, some local communities fear it is a time of year when anti-social behaviour increases.
Nationally anti-social behaviour figures are down year-on-year and, as the Easter holidays approach, the Community Safety Team is working hard to make sure it stays that way for Winchester.
The team will be increasing targeted patrols and working with neighbourhood policing teams in areas previously known for nuisance behaviour.
They are also asking residents to help by asking themselves: “Do you have children? If so, do you know where they are?”
Unsupervised children can unintentionally become involved in activities that cause alarm or distress to someone else or become a victim of crime and anti-social behaviour themselves.
The team offers these simple top tips:
- Before children go out, find out where they are going, who they are going to be with, what their plans are and when they are likely to be home
- When they get home, ask them about what they have been up to
- If they have been a victim of crime or anti-social behaviour themselves talk to them about what has been happening and encourage them to report it
Cllr Frank Pearson, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health and Wellbeing, said:
We all want to enjoy our outside spaces free from the threat of anti-social behaviour. Winchester Community Safety Partnership can only work on the information given to them, so in order to take appropriate action to tackle this behaviour at the earliest opportunity they rely on the residents of Winchester to report concerns to them in a timely manner.
There are a number of ways this can be done:
- Contact Hampshire Constabulary on the non-emergency number 101 (or 999 if a crime is in progress)
- Use Winchester City Council’s online reporting form http://www.winchester.gov.uk/report/
- Visit the City Council website for more information on how to report anti-social behaviour: http://www.winchester.gov.uk/community/neighbourhood-services/anti-social-behaviour/