New Plan To Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour

24 May 2011, 16:47 | Updated: 24 May 2011, 16:55

Police in Daventry have drawn up an action plan to combat anti-social behaviour in the town and surrounding villages.

They took away a number of proposals from the underage alcohol summit which was held at the beginning last month.

Alongside these, patrols in hotspot areas on Friday nights have been increased.

And officers aim to respond to any reports of anti-social behaviour incidents within 24 hours.

Five key proposals from the underage alcohol summit are as follows:-

• Setting up a formalised forum involving young people
• Writing an action plan for local schools for use in assemblies and at parent evenings
• Visiting parents of any child found drunk or in possession of alcohol
• Making off-licence staff more aware of youth alcohol problems
• Providing young people with a non-police number so that they can pass on information as to where alcohol is being made available

Sergeant Sam Dobbs, of Daventry Safer Community Team, said: “These are all interesting proposals which the Safer Community Team will look to work through.

“We are already dedicating more resources to our Friday night patrols in the town.

“And we want to make swift contact with anyone concerned about anti-social behaviour in the area where they live or work.

“We recognise that anti-social behaviour and low-level criminality has a drip-drip effect in eroding the quality of life within our communities and we are determined to do something about it.

“It is a number one priority for people in Daventry, indeed across the whole of the county.

“The underage alcohol summit made it very clear that the intention is not to target licensees, most of whom are responsible, or young people, most of whom do not cause problems.

“But there are problems on Friday nights involving the sale and consumption of lager, more than other alcoholic drinks. The main problem is proxy sales, rather than direct sales.

“We have a responsibility to our young people and have to protect them from harming themselves or other members of the public.

“Local people have told us they want us to target rowdiness on the street and deliberate damage, and underage drinking negatively influences these problems.”

The Police Authority consultation exercise towards the end of last year resulted in a widespread view that anti-social behaviour was what most people wanted police in Northamptonshire to get a grip of.

The findings have informed the Local Policing Plan and Deirdre Newham, Chair of the Police Authority, said: “In common with many organisations in the public sector, a major challenge faced by the Police Authority and Force is the significant cuts in public spending outlined by the Government.

 “However, the ‘Team Northamptonshire’ approach is still very much alive and we recognise that the best way to get through these challenging times is by us all pulling together.”