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Anti-social behaviour across Suffolk has fallen by more than ten per cent - while Suffolk police have been praised for how they deal with
incidents of ASB.

A new survey shows that people in Suffolk who have reported ASB are more satisfied with the service they received from their local police than the average for all other areas of the country.

And the same survey shows that ASB has less impact on their quality of life than is the case for people living in most other areas nationwide.

The survey is contained in a report on anti-social behaviour published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), the independent body responsible for monitoring police performance.

All forces in England and Wales were inspected by HMIC earlier this year, with inspectors looking at the processes that forces use to tackle and respond to ASB.

Part of the inspection included a survey with local people, asking questions about people’s perception of ASB and their experience in reporting ASB to their local police force.

Suffolk’s survey showed that:
· 74 per cent of people surveyed were satisfied with the way police handled their call overall (national average: 65 per cent).
· 88 per cent were satisfied that the police listened to what they had to say (national average: 82 per cent).
· 61 per cent were satisfied with information provided to them after the call (national average: 56 per cent).
· 58 per cent felt that their call made a difference to the problem (national average: 53%).

In its concluding remarks on the survey results, the report says: “...it can be seen that the force is doing well in the areas considered in the survey. The survey also showed significantly fewer of the ASB victims in Suffolk felt that ASB was a big problem in their area than the national average. In addition, the proportion of ASB victims who felt that ASB affected their daily routine was far lower than in most forces. This is a good result for the force.”

Latest figures show that ASB has fallen across Suffolk by 11.7 per cent. There have been 18,851 incidents of ASB reported to police between April 1 and September 20, compared to 21,337 for the same period last year.

Suffolk’s Chief Constable Simon Ash welcomed both the report and the fall in ASB: “Suffolk is a safe county, which has relatively low levels of crime and anti-social behaviour compared to most other areas of the country,” he said.

“In this context, a fall of more than ten per cent in ASB incidents is a quite an achievement – and I think it demonstrates how our local officers are working effectively with their colleagues from councils and other partner agencies to get to the root of the problems which most affect our local communities.

“But it’s not just about tackling the incidents - it’s also important to ensure that we are listening and feeding back to the people who are its victims and report it to us.

“That’s why I am delighted that local people, who have had to report ASB, have given such a positive response when asked about the quality of service they have received from us.

“Overall, I think the report reflects how well the police and local councils have joined together in a shared commitment to dealing with local issues, to improve quality of life for residents across the county.”

The HMIC report looked at the constabulary’s processes for dealing with ASB. It found that the police resources for dealing with ASB matched the force’s commitment to treat it as a priority and that front-line staff were briefed well on local ASB issues.

The report also found that Safer Neighbourhood Team officers were working well with colleagues from partner agencies to prioritise and tackle ASB issues together.

However, the report suggested that more focus was needed on the service provided to repeat or vulnerable victims of ASB.

This is already being implemented through the creation of joint ASB partnership teams across the county, which will focus their energy on dealing with incidents which have vulnerable or repeat victims.