Seaside town named worst place for antisocial behaviour in Essex

The centre of an Essex seaside town has been named the number one hotspot for antisocial behaviour in Essex. Figures at a local level showed Clacton Central as having the highest occurrence of antisocial behaviour (ASB).

Incidents included vandalism, verbal abuse, shouting, swearing, fighting, intimidation and harassment. When compared to the size of the population, that amounted to the equivalent of 68 incidents of ASB for every 1,000 residents, the highest rate in Essex and far higher than the national average of 17 per 1,000 people.

The next highest in Essex was the Central Colchester neighbourhood with 58 crimes of ASB per 1,000 residents, and then Southend Central (57 per 1,000 residents). At the other end of the spectrum, Braintree’s Steeple Bumpstead & Great Yeldham neighbourhood was the safest in Essex for ASB, with three incidents for every 1,000 residents.

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Across nearly 7,000 neighbourhoods in England and Wales – with the exception of Greater Manchester, where police were unable to provide localised figures due to ongoing computer issues – there were 990,000 incidents of anti-social behaviour last year.

But that was a 37 per cent drop from around 1.4 million crimes recorded in 2021. However, that included breaches of pandemic restrictions which police said would not normally be considered ASB.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Chelmsford to launch a new ‘zero tolerance’ action plan on anti-social behaviour. He promised swifter justice measures, including increased policing in parts of the country. It also included a ban on the sale of laughing gas.

A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said: “During the pandemic, with many more people at home, there was a significant rise in reporting of anti-social behaviour. Since the lifting of restrictions and many people returning to normality, we have seen a steady decrease in the number of reports.

“Everyone should live their lives free from intimidation and harassment. It is important to have a multi-agency approach to tackling anti-social behaviour as the police are only one part of the solution. Force working with local authorities and other agencies to tackle ASB-affected communities.

“The public must continue to report incidents of ASB. The police, and other agencies, will use their powers to deal with persistent offenders who blight local communities.”

While some forms of anti-social behaviour can seem relatively trivial, this type of offending can have a major impact on people’s lives in the neighbourhoods where it takes place. Victim Support says many people who experience anti-social behaviour are frightened to go out and don’t feel safe in their own homes.

The charity’s chief executive, Diana Fawcett, said: “Anti-social behaviour is often thought of as low level but it can actually have a devastating impact, destroying people’s sense of safety, taking a huge toll on their mental health and massively disrupting their day to day lives.

“Many victims end up losing serious amounts of money or even needing to move house. It’s vital that the government uses the upcoming Victim’s Bill to strengthen the rights of persistent antisocial behaviour victims and improve the support available to them.”

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