Police Commissioner Donna Jones releases £750k for Community Wardens to prevent a spike in anti-social behaviour over the summer period

Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones is tackling anti-social behaviour head-on this summer by funding specialist ASB wardens jointly with councils across the police force area.

The Commissioner has allocated £750k to reduce ASB which will fund specialist ASB wardens employed by local authorities. The ASB officers will carry out patrols in ASB hotspot locations identified through police data.

The move is a new way to tackle anti-social behaviour in partnership with local authorities to free up police officer time to respond to crimes and emergencies during the busiest period of the year.

The number of hours and patrols carried out by the ASB wardens will be monitored and reported to the Home Office to track the positive effect and reduction in offending. 

Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said: “The summer is a busy period for policing.  Crime reports shows anti-social behaviour increases during the summer months. If not managed, issues can escalate into more serious crimes putting pressure on policing resources.

“The public have told me they want ASB to reduce and by working with councils I’ve been able to ensure we have more boots on the ground in the right locations to prevent anti-social behaviour.

“The presence of uniformed ASB wardens has been proven to have a positive impact on reducing anti-social behaviour. These dedicated wardens will reduce the pressure on police officers responding to ASB, whilst working closely with neighbourhood policing teams to ensuring the extra police time is spent on responding to crimes in action.”

The £750k was part of a £1.4million grant from the Home Officer to the Police & Crime Commissioner. The money was allocated to police forces by the previous government to specifically tackle anti-social behaviour, drive down crime in hotspot areas and boost public confidence.

The programme started in June with ASB Wardens already in post.

The Police and Crime Commissioner will report on the findings at the end of the summer period.

Funding allocated:

• Portsmouth £150,000
• Rushmoor £75,000
• Eastleigh £37,500
• Havant and Waterlooville £75,000
• Southampton £112,500
• Fareham £37,500
• Gosport £75,000
• Winchester £37,500
• Basingstoke £37,500
• Isle of Wight OW £75,000
• Test Valley £37,500
• In March 2023, the previous government announced every police force in England and Wales will receive at least £1 million to ramp up patrols to tackle violence and disorder, targeted in areas with high levels of anti-social behaviour.
• Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones received £1.4million to ramp up uniformed patrols and tackle anti-social behaviour in hotspot areas.
• The Commissioner allocated £750k of the grant to local authorities to carry out uniform patrols instead to free up police time.
• Community engagement remains vital, as evidenced by local success stories where anti-social behaviour markedly decreased due to proactive policing and local partnership efforts.

How are councils using the funding? 

Havant

Councillor Richard Brown, Community Safety Portfolio Holder, for Havant Borough Council, said: “Our resident’s survey identified that feeling safe was a priority concern for Havant residents along with wanting to see improvements in the street scene. The funding from the OPCC has meant that we have been able to employ a dedicated officer to proactively patrol our ASB hot-spot areas to support the work of the Police Local Neighbourhoods Teams. In the Havant Borough, we have already seen the value of the dedicated officer through early intervention, engagement with local businesses and residents, reporting of incidents and street scene issues, and working with our partners to tackle ASB.”

Gosport

Gosport Borough Council Leader Councillor Peter Chegwyn said: “Gosport Borough Council is committed to improving public safety. Extra funding has enabled the council to hire uniformed officers from Blayde Security to increase safety in the Ferry Gardens area of Gosport for the 12 weeks of summer, contributing to our aim of a safer, more welcoming borough.

Southampton

Rob Henderson, Chair of Southampton Safe City Partnership: “The extra funding Southampton has helped us increase support for our communities in areas of most need through partnership working with the Police, Southampton Street Pastors, No Limits and Go!Southampton. More of these great teams out and about in communities helps us understand local issues and work on longer term problem-solving for anti-social behaviour and to work with young people in particular to engage with some of the great initiatives there are in the city.”

Portsmouth

Councillor Lee Hunt, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Leisure & Sport said: “Portsmouth City Council has increased resources within the community wardens’ team and youth outreach, and increased patrols in anti-social hotspots in Portsmouth, including in Commercial Road, Fratton Road, London Road and Sultan Road, thanks to the additional funding. This enables us to share more information with our partners, such as the police, and engage with and provide reassurance to our local communities.”

Andover

Shelley Coburn, Andover BID Manager, said: “The additional funding received from the PCC by the Andover BID has enabled enhanced ranger coverage to seven days a week, as well as an increase in daily hours. This has allowed us to address safety and security concerns raised by town centre businesses, residents, and visitors. These extra resources will aid the objective of reducing Anti-Social Behaviour and shoplifting in identified ‘hotspots’, whilst also enhancing public confidence.”

Eastleigh

Councillor Tonia Craig, Eastleigh Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Social Policy, said: “As a Council we’re committed to tackling antisocial behaviour robustly, wherever it occurs, and we’re pleased to be taking part in this programme alongside our partners in the Eastleigh BID. We look forward to seeing the patrols freeing up police resources and adding an extra dimension to community safety in the Eastleigh town centre area.”

Basingstoke

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Partnerships and Inclusion Cllr John McKay said: “We are committed to funding our community safety patrol officers. This responds to residents telling us that the level of crime and antisocial behaviour plays a large role in making them feel their area is a good place to live. We work in close partnership with the police to tackle antisocial behaviour throughout the borough and this funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner has enabled us to provide additional patrols in our identified antisocial hotspot area. This increased presence by the council’s police accredited community safety patrol officers has provided additional reassurance to our residents, businesses and visitors.”

Fareham

Executive Member for Health and Public Protection at Fareham Borough Council, Cllr Joanne Burton added: “It has been proven that having uniformed Public Space Guardians has a positive impact on reducing anti-social behaviour. Our guardians not only help to reduce incidents of ASB, but can engage, signpost, submit intelligence and support Police Officers at a very busy time of year. This initiative fits in with Fareham’s partnership approach to working and I look forward to monitoring the results.”

Winchester

Leader of Winchester City Council Cllr Martin Tod, said: “Winchester City Council’s community wardens already work closely with the BID rangers and the police to tackle anti-social behaviour in the city, but there are extra pressures in the summer so this extra funding for high visibility patrols in ASB hotspots is very welcome. “