Reducing Youth Anti-Social Behaviour and Crime in Arun

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 defines ASB as – 

• (a)  conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person,
• (b)  conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation or residential premises, or
• (c)  conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person.

This is a broad definition and is often subjective in terms of what is considered an act of anti-social behaviour, constituting a breach of socially accepted norms.  For consistency of reporting, the national police framework further categorises ASB as personal, nuisance, and environmental.

There is a general opinion that anti-social behaviour is on the increase nationally, and this view is reflected here in our district.  When considering the overall rise in anti-social behaviour, balance must also be given to variances such as personal tolerance levels which, it is accepted, have lowered since Covid-19 lockdowns, campaigns to encourage and increase reporting to relevant authorities, and the use of social media to share incidents amongst communities.  However, the consensus is that anti-social behaviour and crime carried out by young people has significantly increased over the past 12 months throughout the district and is regularly a cause of public debate.

It is not the purpose of this report to hold young people responsible for all anti-social behaviour and crime.  Given that categories of anti-social behaviour alone are extensive, including dog fouling, fly-tipping, and abandoned vehicles, it would be wholly wrong to claim that young people are responsible for all incidents.  Therefore, within the context of this report, youth related anti-social behaviour can be referenced as that which is rowdy and causes a nuisance to individuals and communities carried out by those under the age of 18.  Details of the types of ASB that young people are known to be causing in Arun, alongside examples of criminal behaviour, are laid out on pages 7-9 of this report.

The strength of feeling amongst residents can be demonstrated by the following few quotes posted to various local public community Facebook groups from this year – 

• Its all kicking off at Barnham station again tonight. These kids need sorting out.
• … I myself witnessed a youth harassing and actually punching random people in town centre tonight …
• … so it has happened again, another kid has decided to kick a hole in my fence.
• Absolutely disgusting behaviour from the group of teenagers at Morrisons!

The results of the Community Safety Survey (2023) highlighted anti-social behaviour as being the number one issue that residents want to be addressed, and the issue that they see most regularly causing harm to their community.

The severity of incidents is also increasing, causing more harm to communities and individuals, and raising the risk to both victims and perpetrators.  Physical assaults, weapon carrying, shoplifting, criminal damage, abusive language, and generalised nuisance behaviour are amongst the types of activity becoming more prevalent.  Worryingly, it is noted that the age of children engaging in these behaviours has lowered, with children aged 11-14 now regularly coming to notice, alongside the known 15-18 year old range.  Town centres have been the traditional hotspot locations, but we are increasingly seeing youth ASB and crime taking place in more outlying areas.

This document is very much an initial report that seeks to establish a cohesive strategy in response to the increase in youth related crime and anti-social behaviour within the Arun area.  It is expected that additional reports will be published over time to provide information on progress, any barriers or challenges identified, and relevant strategic outcomes.  The intention is that these reports will be made publicly available to offer an assurance to residents, businesses, and visitors that the issue is being taken seriously.

1. To understand the drivers for young people to increasingly engage in anti-social behaviour and crime.
2. To explore the types of activity young people are carrying out.
3. To consider the hotspot locations and why they are attractive to young people.
4. To consider the impact that youth ASB and crime has on communities.
5. To understand the nature and extent of the self-harm inflicted by engaging in anti-social behaviour and crime, and how this impacts young people as they grow.
6. To develop a clear action plan to address and reduce behaviours.
7. To provide reassurance to the residents of Arun that agencies acknowledge their concerns and are doing all they can to make the district a safe place.

Ultimately, the approach is one that seeks to keep all of our local young people safe, by reducing the risks of criminal and sexual exploitation, serious violence, drugs, and generalised nuisance behaviour.  Children’s daily interactions and social experiences can put them into contact with these potential harms on a regular basis.  Therefore, in attempting to keep young people safe, we must understand what draws them into such behaviours.  This could be examining their home and educational settings, their online exposure, understanding why they do not participate in alternative activities, identifying mental health issues, or simply educating them around making better decisions.

This must be a partnership effort.  No single agency should be expected to handle it alone given the complex nature of young people and the risks they encounter which can possibly lead them towards involvement in anti-social behaviour and crime.

Whilst a collaborative effort is needed to identify the risks, the same is expected when looking to tackle the rise in crime and ASB committed by youths.  The current extent of the problem is widespread and so needs input from all partners, whether they are a responsible agency as part of the Safer Arun Partnership or work in the wider community.

Adoption of a multi-agency approach affords a much greater breadth of insight and intelligence around young people, their behaviours, and the risks to themselves and others as a result.  It also ensures a wide range of experiences and scope to develop proactive intervention and enforcement strategies, and to bring about positive change in young people who participate in offending.

The following organisations and community groups have been identified as being integral to this effort – 

• Sussex Police
• Arun District Council
  • ASB team
  • Safeguarding
  • Community Safety
• West Sussex County Council
  • Early Help
  • Serious Violence and Exploitation
  • Community Safety
  • Children’s social care
• Youth Justice Service
• Local secondary and primary schools
• Youth service providers
• West Sussex Fire and Rescue
• Probation service
• Town and parish councils

Consideration will also be given to the Police and Crime Plan for Sussex, and reference made to the Office of the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner who may be able to support any of the work identified or share examples of positive activity being undertaken in other areas across Sussex.

Views of residents are also to be taken into account, for it is they who are at the receiving end of this behaviour, and who experience the harm and fear that ASB and crime causes.  Residents are vitally important in highlighting emerging issues at an early stage and to ensure that the authorities have relevant information around which they can take timely action.  It is important to recognise that members of the public need to feel confident, firstly, in how to report incidents they witness and to which agency and, secondly, that their reports are meaningful.  By publishing this report, it is intended as a step in ensuring that residents have sight of the work being done and know that their concerns are taken on board.

The principal of further developing a multi-agency response to this issue followed recent meetings held around Barnham, a village that has seen an unprecedented level of youth ASB and disorder since late 2023.  An initial meeting was held between relevant stakeholders to look at what was happening, what the impact was, identifying those involved, and looking at actions to reduce the problem.  A community meeting followed, bringing together residents and agencies to enhance the conversation and outline the action being taken.  At the beginning of May 2024, a follow-up multi-agency meeting was held to review the situation and advance the now embedded partnership work.

Benefits of partnership working, and working with local stakeholders, were evident throughout this process, which made sure everyone remained aware of the issues and incidents occurring whilst being able to share the actions that have and continue to be taken.

The statutory local Community Safety Partnership, known as the Safer Arun Partnership, convened an extraordinary meeting on the 22 May 2024 with a dedicated focus on tackling youth related crime and ASB.  Responsible authorities were joined by a range of their own internal teams, alongside a number of local schools and youth services.   This meeting set about scoping various questions under three overarching headings which are set out below with a summary of responses.

What – 

What specific types of behaviour are young people engaging in?

• Shoplifting.
• Weapons carrying.
• Drugs, both taking and dealing.
• Physical and verbal assault.
• Generalised rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour.
• Criminal damage to public conveniences and town centre shopfronts.
• Deliberate fire starting (seasonal).
• Graffiti.
• Misogynistic behaviour.
• Trespassing.
• Harassment.

What is the attraction for young people to behave in this way?

• Boredom.
• Status i.e. being given a ‘tag’ is seen as a fashion accessory.
• Respect amongst peers.
• Familial influence.
• Financial gain.
• Rewards such as drugs or designer clothing.

What is the impact on affected communities?

• Increased fear of crime.
• Feeling unsafe at home or when going out.
• Fear of physical harm.
• Lack of public confidence in authorities.
• Business trade can be affected through shoplifting, or reduced footfall and investment.
• Negative perception of areas.
• Breakdown of community togetherness.
• Individuals becoming socially isolated.
• Mental health and general wellbeing impact.

Where —

Where are the current hotspot locations?

• Littlehampton and Bognor Regis town centres.
• Barnham.
• The Blakes Mead estate, Felpham.
• Hotham Park.
• Woodlands recreation ground, Rustington.
• Train stations.
• Co-Op stores.
• Yapton.

Where are young people most at risk?

• Public open spaces – parks, high streets, train stations.
• Home.

Where are the ‘out of area’ groups coming from and how are they travelling here?

• It appears that there are two very distinct cohorts – those that live in Arun, and those that are transient from out of area.
• Young people from Brighton, Shoreham, Worthing, Chichester, and Portsmouth have been identified as engaging in ASB and crime in Arun.
• Rail network is a significant mode of travel for cross border youths.
• Stagecoach have also experienced problematic behaviour from young people travelling within the district by bus.

Why – 

Why are young people drawn into these types of behaviours?

• Problematic and chaotic family settings.
• Repeating behaviour of parents.
• Negative peer associations and connections outside of school.
• Increasing levels of cannabis and alcohol use.
• Lacking a sense of identity and belonging.
• Such behaviour is normalised by young people.
• Drug related debts.
• Exploitation.
• Influenced by social media.
• Low sense of self-worth.
• Overspill of social anxiety following Covid lockdowns.
• Limited youth service provision across the district.
• Seen as having no other choice.

Why do we see so many repeat offenders?

• High levels of defiance amongst young people.
• Do not fear consequences.
• Feeling of being untouchable.
• Feeling that society doesn’t care about young people.
• Lack of parental responsibility being taken.
• Incidents are not always reported so enforcement is restricted.
• Intervention does not take place soon enough.
• Agencies working with individuals feel isolated and without support.

When considering the discussions and points raised during the partnership meeting on 22 May 2024, four key elements of work have been identified and are set out below – 

• Intervention
• Diversion
• Enforcement
• Society

These categories have been formulated from a wide range of shared intelligence and understanding of the issues from local stakeholders, and each will be underpinned by multiple strands of work.  Each examines the impact of youth related anti-social behaviour and crime and seeks to ensure that policies and interventions target the right areas and individuals.  Short, medium, and long term plans are included.

Within this early action plan, there are elements that require further examination to clearly identify the extent of any problems or barriers that may prevent actions being carried out effectively.  Initial thoughts around the kinds of steps that can be taken are outlined below under each of the headings – 

Intervention

• Set and embed clear pathways for agencies to provide early intervention work with young people.
• Improving early intervention practices and ensuring a multi-agency response to identify when young people display nuisance behaviour and assess the risks.
• Educating young people around ASB and the harm it causes to communities and individuals.
• Identification of risk around the individual i.e. lifestyle, home, school, peer associations.
• Reducing school exclusions.

Diversion

• Providing positive activities and services for young people, in the right areas – sport, arts, and cultural activities.
• Providing safe spaces for young people.
• Engaging with and listening to young people - understanding their fears and reasons for involvement in crime and ASB.
• Building positive relationships between young people and the authorities.
• Mental health and emotional support services.

Enforcement

• Building resilience amongst local communities – providing them with assurance that issues are being tackled.
• Embedding the confidence to report incidents of ASB and criminal behaviour.
• Supporting parents/carers to identify risks and behavioural concerns.
• Holding parents/carers to account.
• Changing the negative perception of young people.
• Giving society the tools to build stronger and safer communities.

Enforcement

• Utilising all of the legislative tools afforded to tackle ASB and crime amongst young people.
• Working with the Youth Justice Service and wider youth criminal justice system to prevent crime by following through with appropriate enforcement.
• Making young people aware of the consequences of such behaviour, and the detrimental impact it can have on their own futures.
• Carrying out action that gives reassurance to local communities.
• Ensuring agencies are joined-up in their approach and sharing information to allow enforcement action to be carried out efficiently.

Several projects have been delivered, are in progress, or being developed in response to identified problem profiles –

Projects table

Project	Lead Agency	Purpose	Status
Railway Children	WSCC	To provide contextual assessments of the rail network along the coastal strip (Southwick to Chichester) to identify associated risks to young people and the development of Safeguarding Action Groups where they are needed.	Being delivered
Dame Kelly Holmes Trust	WSCC	Addressing behaviours and choices made by young people when using the rail network, specifically focusing on working with students at Alternative Provision Colleges.	Scoping
Early Multi-Agency Meetings	Arun DC	To ensure that those involved with individual youths can instigate very early discussions where they come to notice due to their negative behaviour, to allow identification of concerns and risk factors – joining up services such as schools, Police, ASB team, Social Care.	Scoping
Detached Youth Work	Arun DC	Commissioning of detached outreach to engage with young people and offer diversionary activities.  This could also include 1-2-1 and group work for those in highest priority of support.  Funded by the Safer Arun Partnership.	Scoping
Diversionary Activities	Arun DC Neighbourhood Youth Officers (Police)	The Safer Arun Partnership has offered a small funding pot for officers to work with young people at a low level and offer diversionary activities where it is felt that this would help prevent an escalation in behaviour.	Being delivered
See it. Report it.	Safer Arun Partnership	Production of window stickers and A6 cards highlighting where and how to report incidents of crime and ASB to encourage more direct reports which can, in turn, inform agency responses and allocation of resources.	Being delivered
Knife crime education	Neighbourhood Youth Officers (Police)	Safer Arun Partnership funding provided to procure VR Headsets and programme licence to allow NYOs to deliver knife crime interventions and support.	Being delivered
Choices and Consequences schools talks	Arun DC	To deliver in-school talks to Year 7 pupils about considering and making better choices to avoid being drawn into crime and violence.  To be delivered by ex-offenders who provide lived experience (content tailored to age range and in conjunction with secondary schools).	Scoping
Early ASB education	Arun DC	Delivering education talks to Year 6 primary school pupils raising awareness of what ASB is and the impact it has on people and communities.	Being delivered
Knife Intervention Project	WSCC	Programme of support to professionals working with children who are identified as being at risk of carrying knives and serious violence; delivering personalised and responsive support to address risk factors.	Being delivered
Peer Group Conference	Arun DC	Monthly professionals meeting to raise and discuss emerging behavioural trends, hotspot locations, and identified young people.	Being delivered
Partnership Operations	Sussex Police	Dedicated operational responses to youth related ASB and criminal behaviour such as Op Precinct (Barnham) and Op Parkside (train network) provide co-ordinated and cross-agency working.	Being delivered
Third party security patrols	Safer Arun Partnership	In response to escalating youth ASB in Barnham, a third party security company were commissioned to provide 21 consecutive days of patrols and interventions, supporting businesses and rail station staff.	Completed
Look Out, Reach Out (Arun)	Arun DC	www.reachout-arun.gov.uk is an online information resource for young people and parents/carers where concerns about children affected by or at risk of serious violence and exploitation.	Completed

When looking to establish any projects that address youth criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, agencies will refer to the four principal topics to ensure that they are suitable and will deliver what is required locally.  Although lead agencies have been assigned to those projects being delivered or scoped currently, they are all reliant on collaborations and contributions from a host of stakeholders.  In the longer term, it is anticipated that terms of measurement will be established to highlight the outcomes of each programme.

As set out at the start of the report, this is not a complete or final strategy that claims to immediately resolve all youth related crime and ASB in Arun.  It is, however, a start in trying to effectively reduce the acts being experienced by local communities and the harm that they cause.  Partners recognise this as a work in progress and that there remains significant work still to do to build the full picture of what is going on and to identify ways in which matters can best be addressed, as well as identifying where barriers and challenges lay.  As a partnership, we should not shy away from acknowledging these in order to find resolutions.

It is intended that by sharing an outline of the approach adopted, the scoping work that is taking place, and the initial action planning, both transparency and reassurance is provided to residents and businesses.  All agencies are committed to achieving a greater level of understanding and intervention in pursuit of achieving the aims set out at page 4.

The age of criminal responsibility in the UK is currently set at 10 years old.  However, it is disputed as to how much awareness a child of this age, or in their early teens, has about criminal behaviour and the potential consequences.  Some also argue that receiving a criminal conviction at such a young age causes more long term harm than good.  This report does not offer any comment on this but does state that it is a priority to try and avoid children entering the criminal justice system.  In Arun, partners recognise that putting young people through this system for minor transgressions or where they are considered ‘at risk’ can be counterproductive.  Simply labelling young people as criminals for low level, and one-off, criminal acts sets a stigma that many may decide to live up to.

A person-centred approach is to be taken, providing a focus on early recognition of those who may be on a path towards heightened criminal behaviour, allowing for prompt interventions to take place.  Consideration will be given to diversionary measures personalised to the individual.  In the past, diversionary offers have been rigid and limited in scope which are often of no interest to the young person.  If offers do not engage their interest or personal strengths, they are unlikely to participate in the activity and so continue to engage in ASB and crime.

Whilst all efforts are underpinned by a desire not to unnecessarily criminalise children, the youth justice system has a strong part to play where all other intervention and diversionary efforts have been ignored.  All available tools afforded by The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Police Act 2014 and criminal justice system must be taken into consideration.  There is also a clear need to engage with parents/carers and hold them to account where it is proportionate.

Local social media pages regularly claim that perpetrators under the age of 18 might get caught and arrested but are repeatedly let back out, seemingly without a consequence and that they go right back to the same offending.  This erodes public confidence in services and undermines the feeling of safety that residents are entitled to have.  It is obviously inappropriate to share specific circumstances of arrests pertaining to any individual.  However, it might be appropriate that some level of public engagement is considered and delivered to offer comfort to communities – if they do not hear or see the actions being taken, lack of confidence can only increase along with the fear of crime.

Over time, this report will be superseded by new versions to set out the progress being made.