From 2010 to 2024, 20,000 police officers were moved away from frontline duties. The consequences will be experienced for many years.
The following details just some experiences of the victims of crime.
A loud crash jolts Paul Wheeler awake in the middle of the night.
As he peers out of his bedroom window, which overlooks the park behind his home in a quiet suburban area of Kent, he sees a shadowy figure setting fire to something.
It’s a warm summer night, and Labour is celebrating its landslide election victory. For the first time in 14 years, there is a new government in place that has made big promises on tackling crime.
As the flames rage near his garden fence, Paul, 46, begins to film the unfolding drama outside his home, while his two children sleep soundly in the next room.
“You need to call 999 right now,” he tells his wife. “People are setting something alight by the gate at the front of the park.”
Then there’s an explosion, and smoke fills the air.
For the past four years, gangs of mostly teenagers have caused trouble in the park behind Paul’s house, terrorising him and his neighbours. He had asked the council to install CCTV, but his request was refused.
The next morning, the charred remains of a motorbike lie at the park entrance. The gate is damaged, and the ground is littered with debris, including bits of wire, nuts and bolts. The flames have turned the leaves of a large tree a rusty brown.
Paul’s experience mirrors that of thousands of other communities across Britain, who say their concerns about anti-social behaviour, ranging from vandalism to public drunkenness and noise disturbances, are not being taken seriously by the police and local councils.
One million incidents a year
A landmark report by the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove, details the failure of agencies to respond to the one million incidents of anti-social behaviour recorded by police each year.
The report finds that two-thirds of people (63%) who reported anti-social behaviour said their problem had not been resolved.
The majority, over 60%, had reported it to multiple agencies.
And a staggering 70% said they received no support at all.
For people like Paul, living with anti-social behaviour has taken a heavy toll on his mental health. “It makes you fearful,” he says. “It causes us huge amounts of anxiety and stress.”
His neighbour, Jackie Beamiss, 68, has also experienced feelings of despair over the disturbances in the park. Calling and emailing Kent Police, writing to her local MP, and contacting the council are all actions she says she’s taken over the past four years.
“I’m fed up with nobody listening to us or understanding how serious it can be,” says Jackie, who has also been coping with a breast cancer diagnosis. “I feel too intimidated to even let my dog out in the back garden.”
Neighbourhood Watch coordinator Garry Turner says the message they receive from the police is that they need more evidence. “You can’t provide more evidence than we have, and we’re still not getting the response we deserve,” he adds.
One in three experience or witness anti-social behaviour
According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, published in March, 35% of people have experienced or witnessed some form of anti-social behaviour.
The findings reveal deep-rooted problems in some communities, driven by economic hardship, social fragmentation, and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Back in Wilmot Park, Paul remains upset by what he witnessed on the night of the fire and believes the police took too long to respond. It appears to have been an attack on a gate at the park entrance, which was installed by the council in 2023.
Kent Police state that they are “aware of local concerns” and are working with Dartford Borough Council to address these issues. They said they responded to the incident involving the motorbike “within hours”, but those responsible have not been caught.
In a statement, they added: “We have teams who regularly patrol the area and also have a dedicated beat officer whom residents can speak to directly.”
A spokesperson for Dartford Borough Council said: “We fully understand that any anti-social behaviour (ASB) is incredibly frustrating for residents and has a negative impact on the wider community.
“In relation to Wilmot Park, we will continue to respond to incidents of ASB where we have the evidence and powers to do so, and we have also increased our park ranger presence in recent months.”
Previous approaches have been too reactive, focusing on punishment rather than prevention, according to Baroness Newlove, whose husband Garry was kicked to death by a gang of youths in 2007, after confronting them outside the family home in Warrington, Cheshire.
“It’s been 17 years since Garry was killed. It saddens and angers me that anti-social behaviour is still considered a low-level issue, a misdemeanour.
“Victims are forced to jump through hurdle after hurdle to get the response they deserve. They need to be taken more seriously.”
Despite numerous attempts by successive governments to address the problem, the issue continues to plague communities.
The new government says combatting anti-social behaviour is a key part of its policy agenda. However, this is not the first time Labour has pledged to focus heavily on tackling anti-social behaviour.
‘Tackle individuals who cause problems’
Under Tony Blair, the party campaigned and won the 1997 election with the promise to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime”. It then introduced anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) to crack down on individuals causing problems in their communities.
But the success of ASBOs was limited. Around half were breached, and Labour failed to meet any of its targets to reduce reoffending, according to the National Audit Office.
The policing minister, Dame Diana Johnson, said her department was “developing” its plans for ‘new respect orders’.
But it’s action, not words, that victims like Paul and Jackie want to see.
“We need to get much better at this joined-up approach to dealing with what’s going on in communities,” Dame Diana said. “And we need to tackle the individuals who are causing these problems.”
The government also says it plans to hold local authorities accountable for their role in tackling anti-social behaviour.
Councils will be required to do more to work with police forces, schools, and community organisations, and the worst-performing councils could lose out on funding as a result.
But after years of persistent anti-social behaviour outside his home, Paul has a message for the new prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
“If you don’t do something about it, it’s only going to get worse.
“The police and councils aren’t taking responsibility. People aren’t facing consequences, and they need to know they will be punished for what they do.
“We shouldn’t have to live in fear.”
The Situation in Dorset
In Dorset, tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) has become a significant priority, with efforts led by both Dorset Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). The issue ranges from vandalism and public nuisance to more serious criminal behaviour, and it is a key concern for residents.
The PCC has introduced several initiatives to reduce ASB, including the “100 Days of Summer” campaign, which involved targeted patrols and other preventive measures. These efforts contributed to a 14% reduction in reported ASB incidents over the past year. Additionally, the Immediate Justice programme has been implemented, where first-time offenders are tasked with completing unpaid work and attending educational courses to prevent reoffending. These approaches aim to not only punish offenders but also rehabilitate them, with a focus on restorative justice practices.
Dorset Council also uses Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) to prevent ASB in public areas, alongside community engagement programmes and regular patrols by the local authorities. Residents are encouraged to report ASB incidents, and there are mechanisms in place, such as ASB case reviews, to ensure issues are addressed properly.
Overall, while improvements have been noted, ASB remains an ongoing challenge in Dorset, with continued efforts being made to address the concerns of local communities.
Respect Orders
Labour has defended the idea of introducing new ‘respect orders’ to tackle anti-social behaviour, though it has admitted that the specifics of how they will function are still being worked out. The party’s manifesto proposes granting authorities the power to ban persistent adult offenders from town centres, aiming to address issues like public drinking and drug use.
Under Tony Blair’s government, ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders) were introduced but later criticised for their ineffectiveness. About half of these orders were breached, and many were repeatedly violated, leading to their eventual abolition in 2014.
The new ‘respect orders’ seem to have a similar focus to ASBOs, but Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson has emphasised that the details are still under development. She noted that the orders are intended to prevent repeat offenders from entering public spaces like town centres and parks, with potential criminal sanctions for violations.
Dame Diana acknowledged that the previous Labour government had not entirely succeeded in addressing anti-social behaviour but stressed that their approach—more police on the streets and stronger legislation—was effective at the time. She contrasted this with the deterioration of neighbourhood policing under the Conservative government over the last 14 years.
She also highlighted the frustration of many victims of anti-social behaviour, who feel let down by both the police and local councils, emphasising the need for a more coordinated approach. Labour has committed to improving this response with a plan to introduce 13,000 new neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs, and special constables, although the exact breakdown of these roles has yet to be confirmed. Dame Diana affirmed that PCSOs play a valuable role in local communities by maintaining a visible presence and engaging with residents.
She concluded by saying that refining these plans is a top priority, given her recent appointment to the role.
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