A neighbourhood team will use additional tactics to ensure that reports of antisocial behaviour continue to fall.

In 2021-22, Hyson Green and Arboretum saw a 35.9% reduction in ASB reports, well above the Government target of 20%.

Neighbourhood Inspector Ben Lawrence said the decrease was a result of the hard work his officers and external partners put into combating the problem, but that there was still work to be done.

“We’ve made a lot of progress in terms of antisocial behaviour,” he said. However, we still have a problem, especially with street drinkers and drug users.

“My message to the local community is simple: we’re doing a lot about it and there’s more to come.

We have a lot of discussions with the council about how to deal with antisocial behaviour.

Can we remove a shoulder-high wall behind which drug users can hide? Can we instal CCTV to provide evidence to the courts when seeking Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs)?

We’re going to use CBOs a lot more because breaking that means going to prison.

A criminal behaviour order is an order issued by a judge to an offender at the request of the police or prosecution under Part 2 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Such orders forbid the offender from doing anything specified in the order, and violations can result in incarceration.

Inspector Lawrence stated that his team would seek more CBOs in the coming year to combat antisocial behaviour, which is one of the team’s three core priorities, along with burglary and serious crime.

“Getting a CBO is quite difficult,” he admitted. “Courts can reject applications quickly. As a result, we’re planning some CBO training for the team so they know what they need to do to get them.

It’s a model that’s worked well elsewhere, including in the city centre, so we’ll be using CBOs a lot more in the future.

It is frequently difficult to resolve the complex issues that frequently lead to antisocial behaviour. However, Nottinghamshire Police collaborates closely with external partners such as Nottingham City Council to implement long-term strategies that can have a long-term impact.

“There are issues around deprivation, and we can’t police those issues away,” said Inspector Lawrence. That is why, in collaboration with partners such as the city council, we are redesigning Peppers Park to deter anti-social behaviour.

“That project entails redesigning the lighting, removing hedges, and removing walls so people can’t hide behind them.

Similarly in The Arboretum, we’re pruning trees and hedges to better increase lighting and visibility because we know that’s a bit of a robbery hotspot.

“We just had a robbery week of activity that included a lot of high-visibility patrols in and around The Arboretum and Forest Rec area.

“We’ve also been working closely with Asda around keeping street drinkers and drug users away from customers and some temporary fencing went up recently until a better fencing solution is found.

“A lot has happened, and we will continue to work hard until 2023.”

Residents frequently request that officers arrest those engaging in antisocial behaviour near their homes. Inspector Lawrence explained why that wasn’t always a good strategy.

“Many people ask, ‘Why can’t you just go down and arrest everyone?'” All that will happen is that they will be arrested but will eventually be released and will do it again.

“That’s because most of our ASB comes from your hard-core street drinkers and drug users who require longer term support to get out of that situation. Some problems cannot be solved by arrest.

“Don’t get me wrong: if people break the law and cause a nuisance, they will be arrested. But, in the long run, we must implement long-term solutions. This could entail determining what makes a park appealing to them, such as poor lighting or a wall they can hide behind, and then removing those elements. But that requires money, and in order to obtain it, a funding bid must be submitted.

“There is no quick fix, but I can assure the public that we are doing everything we can to address these issues.”

Given the amount of work being done behind the scenes to combat antisocial behaviour, Inspector Lawrence admitted he was frustrated by recent headlines portraying the neighbourhood negatively.

“It’s not good for my team or the local community,” he explained. “When local residents read those headlines they ask us ‘what are you doing about it’. In fact, we’re doing quite a bit. It’s not always visible because some of it is slow and laborious and must be done in the background.

“We’re still putting out visible patrols to pay attention to specific areas, such as around Asda. We went twice the other day. On the second occasion, we issued a dispersal order, which is equivalent to a warning or a yellow card. They must leave at that point, and if they return, we may arrest them.

“Things like that are only one aspect of our multifaceted approach to combating anti-social behaviour.”

This week, Nottinghamshire Police is focusing on community policing as part of the neighbourhood policing week of action, which runs from January 23 to 29, 2023.