Extra police patrols to continue £3m crackdown on anti-social behaviour in Northamptonshire

Extra policing patrols will soon be deployed in areas with high levels of anti-social behaviour in Northamptonshire – with £3 million now awarded to the county over the last two years to crackdown on such behaviour.

The Home Office has today announced that Northamptonshire Police – alongside every police force in England and Wales - will receive at least £1 million to help deploy uniformed patrols in anti-social ‘hotspot’ areas.

The new patrols will help Northamptonshire Police to tackle behaviour such as drug taking, criminal damage, public nuisance, shoplifting and dealing with drunk and disorderly people.

This follows on from a successful trial of a new Immediate Justice scheme in the county, which has been awarded £2 million in Home Office funding for two years up until 2025 and was launched a few weeks ago.

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold has welcomed the extra funding that has been made available locally.

He said: “Anti-social behaviour can have the most damaging consequences in local neighbourhoods, as it can make people feel unsafe in and around their own homes.

“Tackling this kind of behaviour is absolutely a priority for myself and Northamptonshire Police, and I know it is one of the issues that matters most to people who live here.

“The extra funding that has now been made available by the Home Office means we will be able to have a much more visible presence in our local communities and act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.

“This, together with us doubling the number of officers dedicated to neighbourhood policing, is having a substantial impact on us being able to tackle the issues that residents have told me matter most to them.”

The hotspot patrols will build on the Immediate Justice work that has already taken place in Northamptonshire - one of just 16 Forces across the country to trial the scheme.

Adults found committing anti-social behaviour are made to repair the damage they have inflicted on victims and communities. This could see them being made to pick up litter, remove graffiti or carry out other work to make environmental improvements in the areas where they have offended.

A number of Immediate Justice Supervisors, who work directly with the perpetrators, now sits within the Office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC).

The pilot scheme was launched in Northamptonshire just a few weeks ago, and in that time already has seen offenders out and about in the community carrying out reparative work following referrals from Northamptonshire Police staff.

A 20-year-old male in possession of cannabis and Nitrous Oxide received a Conditional Caution for possession of class B drugs and completed litter picking in and around Becketts Park in Northampton. And a 30-year-old man who received a Community Resolution for possession of class B drugs carried out similar work in Eastfield Park in Wellingborough.

Stephen Mold added: “I am thrilled to see the Immediate Justice scheme is now up and running and is already having a positive impact.

“It’s clear that the perpetrators who have already taken part in this scheme have been fully engaged with the process, and I know that members of the public have already been very supportive of seeing the work that has been undertaken.

“This pilot is an effective way of ensuring that those who have inflicted damage on their neighbourhoods are made to swiftly and visibly put right the harm they have done.”