Dorset Police news site

Dorset Police has joined a national campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB).

ASB Awareness Week 2022 encourages communities to take a stand against ASB and highlight the actions that can be taken by those experiencing it.

Organised by Resolve, an ASB and community safety organisation, the week brings together councils, police forces, housing associations, charities, community groups and sports clubs, to show that tackling ASB is truly a multi-agency effort.

Recent YouGov research commissioned by Resolve found that more than half of people (56%) believe that ‘more needs to be done’ to tackle ASB in their community. However, after they witnessed or experienced ASB, a similar proportion of the public (57%) said that they did not report it to anyone.

ASB can range from something that is a mild annoyance, to something that causes real fear and insecurity. This has an impact on peoples’ quality of life and how safe they feel. Types of ASB include hate crime, continuous noise or parties, vandalism, misuse of communal areas or public spaces, criminal behaviour, alcohol related disturbances, nuisance vehicle noise, verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation, or threating behaviour.

In 2021, Dorset Police launched Operation Relentless to highlight its commitment to tackling ASB across the county. Separate operations are also being run under the umbrella of Operation Relentless to respond to specific local issues such as ASB in Bournemouth Lower Gardens and the beach area, or Poole bus station.

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: “ASB can ruin lives and make people feel unsafe in their own homes and communities.

“We are committed to identifying patterns and locations of ASB. If we can understand why ASB happens, the Force can develop multi-agency action plans, including community engagement, to prevent and disrupt ASB before it can take a grip on our communities.

“No one can tackle ASB alone. Dorset Police works closely with partners such as housing associations, Dorset Council and BCP Council to create a safer county for everyone.

“This year we are continuing to encourage people to take the ‘anti’ out of anti-social and consider the impact that their behaviour has on other people. We’re also taking things back to basics, sharing information about different types of ASB to make sure people understand what ASB is and who it should be reported to.”

The ABCs of ASB campaign shares bite-sized insights into types of ASB and explains which organisation is responsible for handling it.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset David Sidwick said: “Over the past year, there has been a developing partnership approach across communities to deal with the growing challenges around ASB and I am pleased to say that so far this year reports of ASB in Dorset have fallen by almost 30% – which equates to almost 8,000 fewer incidents of ASB.

“I know how hard Dorset Police have been working to tackle ASB and I have been supporting them ‘on the beat’ as it were, not only for Operation Relentless, which is the dedicated ASB operation for Dorset but for Operation Fireglow where the Force and partner agencies such as BCP Council work together to protect young and vulnerable people while preventing violence, disorder and anti-social behaviour in our towns.

“Then there is the work of Operation Sandman, the dedicated operation set to address issues of ASB in the Sandbanks. Of course, there have been a number of multi-agency days of action that have taken place in ASB hotspots across the county – all of this work is directed at driving down anti-social behaviour to make Dorset safer for everyone.

“I am firmly of the belief that we need to see more robust enforcement, more partnership working and more being made of the opportunities that tackling ASB provides – and that’s why I set up the Op Relentless Community Fund last year. The Fund was set up to help groups and charities in Dorset take action and tackle ASB in their area. The new grant was aimed at organisations that want to put in place projects and initiatives that reduce ASB and increase the public feeling of safety in areas disproportionately affected by anti-social behaviour – so far 10 projects have been funded and many more have applied for the latest round of funding.”

“I want our Dorset to be the safest county and I am pleased to see that the work of the Dorset Police and it partners is showing such impressive results – but I will not be content until all parts of Dorset are feeling the difference, seeing the difference and we are tackling the root causes of ASB across our county.”

For more information about ASB Awareness Week visit www.resolveuk.org.uk/asbawarenessweek.