Extra police patrols at Lakeside Shopping Centre reduce anti-social behaviour
Targeted police patrols at Lakeside Shopping Centre have been linked to a 22% fall in reports of anti-social behaviour.
Essex Police said there were 498 fewer offences recorded in Thurrock in the year to the end of February, compared to the previous 12 months.
Police officers based at the shopping complex have been targeting “the tiny minority of individuals who come with the intention of committing offences or misbehaving”, the force added.
The district has one of 13 hotspot patrolling zones in Essex to receive part of a £1.1m investment as part of Operation Dial. Across Essex, anti-social behaviour reports dropped by 31.6% in a year, with offences down by more than 7,000.
The Lakeside and Chafford Hundred hotspot zone has seen officers complete more than 2,000 hours of patrols and eight nights of action to combat issues ranging from nuisance behaviour from teenagers through to misuse of vehicles in the centre’s car parks.
Sergeant Lyndsey Chapman, from Essex Police’s Lakeside community policing team, said: “Lakeside is a venue where people want to relax and enjoy themselves. The transport links make it easy to get to and the range of attractions make it popular with teenagers, but we know people can find groups of young people intimidating.
“Recently, we’ve dealt with youngsters coming in on bikes and riding aggressively, and two juvenile boys who’ve been abusive to staff and been knocking products off shelves in shops. One of the boys was issued a community resolution and both have been banned for a year.
“By having a uniformed presence on patrol, it creates a deterrent and reassures the public. Coming here to cause trouble is completely unacceptable and if anyone witnesses anti-social behaviour, we want them to tell our officers or alert the centre’s security team.”
The targeted patrols have led to eight arrests and 41 fixed penalty notices being issued. Officers have also given 50 informal warnings and conducted 32 stop searches.
Lakeside’s shopping and leisure facilities attract more than 20 million visitors a year.
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