YOB RULE

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Police have lost control of the streets, the forces' watchdog warns as new figures show that an estimated 14 million incidents of anti-social behaviour take place each year, one every two seconds. Sir Denis O'Connor, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, says the rowdy and abusive behaviour of yobs is a "disease" within communities that has been allowed to "fester" because police have retreated from the streets in the past two decades. In a report, he claims that forces have been guilty of chasing crime statistics and targets and ignoring anti-social behaviour or "screening out" 999 calls because it is deemed "not real police work".

He said, "We all want civility restored to society and the public rely heavily on the police to help this happen. But the police cannot do this on their own. The public won't tackle anti-social behaviour on the streets while they fear reprisals. Perpetrators need to know they are wrecking lives, the results can be tragic and that they will get swift action from the authorities if the public call for help." Earlier this year, Sir Denis disclosed that just one in 10 police officers was free to tackle crime at any given time because the vast majority were either off work or tied up on other duties.

In the report, he says the "retreat" of beat policemen since the 1990s has been a "mistake that had undermined their connection with the public, and allowed some of these things to gather momentum". The growing "intensity and harm" of anti-social behaviour in Britain signals a "lack of control on our streets". The report, entitled Stop the Rot, discloses the scale of the problem. About 45% of all calls made to the police in the past year were about anti-social behaviour, the vast majority related to disorderly behaviour, the joint study by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, Ipsos MORI and Cardiff University found.

More than two thirds of forces did not even know when they were dealing with a repeat victim of intimidation when they called, the report says. For the victims it is "a sliding scale of grief", Sir Denis adds, made worse by police sometimes seeing them as being part of the problem. Officials believe that only a quarter of all incidents, about 3.5 million, are actually reported and Sir Denis says there has been a "degree of normalisation" around people dropping litter, drunken behaviour and vandalism that should not be accepted.

Senior officers have been accused of failing to make anti-social behaviour a priority. He said, "For almost 20 years the police record of accomplishment and failure has been expressed, increasingly strongly, in terms of crime statistics. Meanwhile, the 'non-qualifying' anti-social behaviour issue and its variants, that signal lack of control on our streets, have grown and evolved in intensity and harm." The chief inspector says an "early intervention" approach is essential. He criticises forces for “screening out” too many anti-social behaviour calls because of an apparent lack of resources.

All 999 calls are graded by police forces according to whether they are an “emergency”, “urgent”, “not a priority” or if no police officers are required to attend the scene. The study found that only three of the 43 forces in England and Wales had a policy where all calls related to anti-social behaviour were considered “urgent” and police would attend. Too often police are “taking a gamble” on the victim’s safety by making it a low priority and not attending the scene. The research discovered that when police responded immediately, 83% of victims were satisfied and problems were often “nipped in the bud”.

He said other responses by police, including “long-winded, invisible partnership processes” that resulted in countless meetings were “making matters worse”. Assistant Chief Constable Simon Edens, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said, “What this report highlights is that where there is police action, victim satisfaction in the police response to anti-social behaviour is high.” One study showed that almost half of almost 6,000 people surveyed had changed their routines through fear of anti-social behaviour, by avoiding certain streets or not going out at night.

Earlier this year, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, placed more emphasis on community involvement. She said, “This report, yet again, shows that for too long this problem has been sidelined and victims, especially those who are vulnerable, have been let down." The report found that 29% of those who called police over anti-social behaviour last year had a long-term illness, disability or infirmity. (Source: Daily Telegraph, Sep/10)

More than a third of all on-the-spot fines given to yobs in the county are not paid on time. Fixed penalties for low-level offences were introduced three years ago to free up more time for police officers but statistics released by the Derbyshire force show that of the 2,772 fines issued in 2004-5 and 2005-6, 998 (36%) were not paid within the 21-day deadline. The fines, of up to £80, can be issued for offences such as the shoplifting of items up to £200, criminal damage of up to £500, and drunken disorder.

They have already been used to help reduce cases of anti-social behaviour and, although only 64% were paid within the three-week deadline, Derbyshire's collection rate was still among the best in the land. However, the chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, Duncan Davis, urged a rethink of how the system works once the fixed penalties have been issued. He said, "If people get to know that by not paying, it blocks the process, it makes a mockery of the criminal justice system." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Apr/07)

A woman already driven to despair by road-building next to her home is now being plagued by gangs of youths drawn to the construction site. Youths have broken into the garden of Lynne Griffin's home and thrown stones at her property. The house is next to the £14m Alvaston bypass link road being built between the A5111 Raynesway and the new A6 Alvaston bypass. Work began on the link road in September, 2002, but the preparation work started months before. Miss Griffin said her life had become almost unbearable because of the noise caused by diggers and lorries on the site. Although the noise is starting to die down, thuggish youths are now targeting her home.

She said, "I'm being driven to tears. It's just a living nightmare. There's a bridge next to my house that goes over the bypass and which has a path leading up to it. This path passes by the bottom of my garden and these youths are standing on it so they can look down into my garden and throw stones. A few weeks ago my friend came to visit me, but I was out and she found these kids in my garden. They were ripping open a parcel that had been left outside my house and using my hosepipe to pour water on my conservatory. I've had my shed broken into and gardening equipment stolen and now I'm afraid to turn on the kitchen light in the evening because it tells them that I'm home."

Neighbour Amanda Wall said one of her children had also been tormented by the same gang. She said, "I'm not just worried about Lynne's physical health, I'm worried about her mental state as well. She's a nervous wreck." A spokeswoman for Derbyshire police said, "We understand Miss Griffin's frustrations and pay as much attention to the area as we can, but we can't be there all the time." A Highways Agency spokeswoman said, "We've made visits to Miss Griffin's home to assess what we are able to do to help. One thing we can offer is to plant tall bushes or hedges to gain her more privacy and security. Security measures had been put in place when construction started, but unfortunately vandals have persisted in breaking the fencing."

A road which runs between Leytonstone Drive and Humbleton Drive, in Mackworth, has been a haven for littering, graffiti, intimidation and verbal abuse for years. The road is used as a short cut to the Humbleton Drive shopping parade but it is also a gathering point for youths. Plans to secure the route have been in the pipeline for many years. Derby Community Safety Partnership's Anti-Social Behaviour team manager Craig Keen said, "For two years we've been negotiating with shopkeepers in Humbleton Drive regarding installing security gates and closing off this short cut. However, in order to do this we needed permission from all the shopkeepers and, unfortunately, we did not get this and our plans were blocked."

JHP Property Development has submitted plans to Derby City Council to build three new homes on a plot of land off Leytonstone Drive, on the corner of the service road. Included in the planning application is a proposal to install security gates at the Leytonstone Drive end of the service road, which will then only be accessed by residents living in the new houses and shop owners. Steven Jordan, JHP Property Development's business development director, said, "Redevelopment of brownfield sites in Derby is a key focus of local planning, but we are especially pleased that our development plans will not only rejuvenate an existing residential site but also help address the issues being tackled by Derby Community Safety Partnership."

Most shop owners on Humbleton Drive have welcomed the plans but Michael Petrou, owner of Kingsway Fish Bar, said the gates should only be closed at nights. He said, "I think it should be closed to traffic but not to people. People walk through to the shops and if it closes that will be shops finished here." He presumably believes vehicles, and not people, are responsible for the littering, graffiti, intimidation and verbal abuse.

Paul and Sandra Lewins and their three children have been plagued by young yobs for three years. The thugs had hurled bricks through their windows, vandalised their cars and had even threatened to kill the family. The Lewins’ ordeal began when the couple moved into a three-bed semi on the Sherburn estate in Durham City. Within weeks they were being pestered by teenagers taking drugs and drinking.

Kids stoned Paul’s car, causing extensive damage to its roof. Several yobs were arrested but the case was dropped for “lack of evidence”. The following day Paul was savagely beaten by the same gang and although he named his attackers to police no arrests were made. Sandra’s car had its windows smashed and bodywork damaged but again, no one was charged. Durham Police said, “Arrests were made, patrols stepped up and other measures are in hand which we hope will end the problems.” (Source: The Sun, Sep/06)