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It’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week.
Hertfordshire Deputy Chief Constable Catherine Akehurst is the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for ASB. She said: “What may seem low level to some can, for others, undermine their sense of safety, erode pride in their neighbourhoods, and diminish overall quality of life. It can isolate people, damage community cohesion, and weaken the trust that the public places in policing and partner agencies. To tackle this, our intention is to create stronger partnerships that allow us to gather and use local intelligence more effectively.
“Police record more than one million incidents of ASB every year. We are tackling offenders through a variety of tactics from arrests, to stop and search, targeted patrols, closing properties and subjecting criminals to orders which control their behaviour. However, a significant focus for policing has been to improve partnership working when it comes to responding to ASB.”
Roger Hirst, the Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “The consequences of persistent anti-social behaviour should never be underestimated. That is why having a more visible policing presence in every corner of the county matters. There has already been investment in targeted, data-led partnership patrols at times and locations where anti-social behaviour is most likely to occur. It is also true that improved safety measures and CCTV in the towns and city centres that make up the county, through more than £6m of Safer Streets funding, has made a significant difference. Although there are more officers on patrol in Essex than ever before, finding new and better ways to confront all forms of anti-social behaviour must continue.
“Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week is also an opportunity to recognise the impact on victims. When incidents are reported, a victim-centred approach should be the focus of the investigation. Through early intervention and targeted prevention activity, helping people feel supported and included in their communities, confidence can be enhanced in the policing approach in Essex.
“Reported anti-social behaviour incidents in Essex have fallen by two-thirds since 2016. Maintaining momentum is important. The more that can be done to work with communities to identify anti-social behaviour hotspots and encourage reporting, the better the police response will be.”
Definition
Police define ASB as activities likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress and can have a serious and lasting impact on individuals and communities. In the 12 months to May 2026, police in Hertfordshire received more than 21,000 reports relating to ASB – an increase of 1.3pc on the same period the previous year. The largest category of reported problems was nuisance behaviour. Reports typically increase during May, June and July as the weather brightens. In May, reports were double those received in February (1,610 compared to 871 reports) across the county.
Resolve
The community safety membership body Resolve, in a report, described anti-social behaviour (ASB) as continuing to have a profound impact; ‘for many victims, ASB is not an occasional nuisance but a persistent reality that can have a continuous and damaging impact on daily life’. Most people, the report points out, ‘still do not report anti-social behaviour at all – often because they don’t know how, can’t do so anonymously, or think that nothing will be done if they do make a report’. For the 16-page report, visit the Resolve website.
Photo by Mark Rowe: PSPO signage, Dartford, Kent.
