Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster is to receive an update on the work being undertaken by the Constabulary to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour across the county in line with the expectations she set out in her Police and Crime Plan.
The Commissioner heard detailed evidence during her Performance Scrutiny Meeting (PSM) on Tuesday 21st March about the approaches that have been adopted by the force to deliver a better service to victims of Anti-Social Behaviour and resolve persistent problems.
Tackling Neighbourhood Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour is a key priority in the Commissioner's Police and Crime Plan. The force has responded robustly against her expectations with new ways of working and a greater emphasis on the impact of these intrusive crimes on victims.
The number of Anti-Social Behaviour incidents has fallen from 37,405 in the 12 months to March 2019 (pre-Covid) to 23,220 in 2022. All types of Anti-Social Behaviour calls have been seeing sweeping reductions, with the largest fall in those flagged as ‘nuisance' incidents.
The force has introduced new robust systems to review Anti-Social Behaviour levels daily to identify threat, risk and vulnerability while quarterly scrutiny is undertaken by an independent panel to provide feedback to officers and ensure key learning is shared across the force.
Derbyshire Constabulary also introduced the use of Problem Management Plans (PMPs) to record and develop strategies to deliver long-term solutions to problems. The plans are governed by Safer Neighbourhood Teams who work within a Problem-Solving Team to ensure partners effectively collaborate.
Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster said: "The force has made significant progress against my key priority to crackdown on Anti-Social Behaviour and communities across Derbyshire are already reaping the benefits with fewer incidents reported and a more effective system for solving persistent issues.
"When I was elected, I promised to treat Anti-Social Behaviour seriously and have worked hard to ensure all relevant partners are onboard in delivering a more coordinated and robust response to problems.
"It is clear that the Police alone cannot address Anti-Social Behaviour nor its root causes and it is good to see that, across the county, partners are now working closer together to support victims and tackle the problem. There are many underlying issues which can lead to this behaviour and these can be quite complex and involve a variety of approaches so it is critical we develop a whole system approach.
"The force has spearheaded a number of improvements to better assess risk and ensure officers utilise the full suite of powers available to them to curb behaviour and prevent future escalation. I am determined for this to continue.
"Anti-social behaviour has a detrimental impact on quality of life and increases fear within the community. The public expects to see a strong and proactive approach and as Commissioner, I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account to make sure that this remains a key priority and performance continue to improve."
The Commissioner has supported Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire County Council to launch a Derbyshire Anti-Social Behaviour Hub - an online resource providing advice and guidance for victims.
She is also funding two Anti-Social Behaviour Coordinators through her budget to support the force's own ASB lead and contribute to the delivery of a Multi-Agency Action Plan. The Coordinators will provide specialist advice and guidance to officers and support community policing teams to deal with nuisance behaviour and disorder that affects the quality of life of Derbyshire residents. They will also scrutinise Anti-Social Behaviour investigations and look to embed best practice across the force.
A video of the full meeting will be available shortly.