POLICE efforts to combat anti-social behaviour in Grays has been highlighted as one of the reasons why the county force is able to record a drop in the number of unsavoury incidents across Essex.

The force has today (Tuesday, 25 January) reported that anti-social behaviour across the county has fallen over the past year by almost a quarter.

A statement says: "We recorded 40,965 incidents of anti-social behaviour between 1 January and 31 December 2021, a drop of 23.6 per cent compared with the previous 12 months."

A former Thurrock police chief, Supt Richard Melton, who introduced a new Thurrock Council-funded policing initiative in 2020 when he was Thurrock Divisional Commander, says that during the past decade, anti-social behaviour incidents reported to police have been decreasing.

Now hold a countywide policing brief, he said: "The numbers continue to fall and last year showed a steep drop compared with 2020. While that can partly be attributed to the fact that breaches of public health regulations during the first year of the pandemic were recorded as anti-social behaviour, it also reflects the hard work our community policing teams have put in to address issues locally.

"To maintain this downward trend, we need the public's help to tell us about issues they are experiencing. And we will continue working with our partners to find solutions which not only benefit communities affected by anti-social behaviour but divert the behaviour of those causing it.

"We take anti-social behaviour very seriously. It is not just nuisance behaviour, it can severely impact on victims and make their lives a misery so our focus is not just on dealing with the anti-social behaviour but on supporting victims and dealing with those responsible.

"While some of it will be down to people deliberately causing problems, there may be others who are unaware their behaviour is seen as intimidating or disruptive so our officers will try to address this directly by pointing it out to them.

"Meanwhile, our teams will continue working with partners to find solutions which not only benefit communities affected by anti-social behaviour but divert the behaviour of those causing it.

"This may include dispersal orders or closure orders for properties or simply referring or signposting individuals to organisations which can help them if they are vulnerable and support them if they need help to change their behaviour."

Publicity from Essex Police highlights the work in Grays.

It says: "In Grays, our town centre team also worked hard when we came out of lockdown last summer to ensure that anti-social behaviour remained low.

"They renewed contacts with shopkeepers and asked them to share CCTV footage and got to know young people who were being disruptive so they could identify them, working closely with Thurrock Council teams and British Transport Police.

"Then letters were sent to parents of young people identified as causing antisocial behaviour to try to get the parents involved in solving the problem, rather than criminalising their children."

A further police statement says: "Anti-social behaviour can affect not just individuals but entire communities, too. If you're experiencing anti-social behaviour or you see or hear about anti-social behaviour issues, we want you to report it to us so that we can work with our community partners to resolve community issues.

"You can report incidents of anti-social behaviour on our website via Live Chat – open from 7am-11pm every day – or by completing an online report. You can also call 101.