There has been a significant decrease in incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB) across the 48 key hotspots in the region.
South Yorkshire Police have credited the 28% decrease to the introduction of highly visible patrols as part of a problem-solving based policing plan launched in July 2023.
Harvinder Saimbhi, CEO of ASB HELP, a charity that supports victims of anti-social behaviour, said: “It’s been brilliant. It’s given more assurance to communities. We all know that if you see more police on the street it will give people more reassurance and help victims.”
The initiative, known as the Hotspot Response Hub, is Home Office funded, with South Yorkshire Police being one of ten forces nationwide to receive funding to place extra patrols in hotspot areas to tackle ASB.
Tracey Ford, Manager at ASB HELP Sheffield, said: “There’s two things here. It’s down to the Home Office funding and the really good work done by the South Yorkshire Police, regardless of that additional funding.
“It often goes unrecognised, but the police are doing an absolutely incredible job. There’s a perception that police and partners aren’t doing anything but if you’re in it you know that they’re doing the best they can with the resources that they’ve got.”
Mrs Ford also credited the decrease of ASB cases to good work being done by the community.
She said: “There’s a lot of people like me who aren’t police but are really passionate about helping people. We’re not talking about loads of funding, we just need passionate people who care.”
Ronny Tucker, CEO of Aspire Box, a free resource in Woodseats focusing on decreasing youth crime and ASB, said: “It’s great that ASB is down, it’s evidence of the good work that community groups do however there will also be a lot of ASB that goes unrecorded. What happens on the street corners usually doesn’t get reported.”
Mrs Saimbhi said: “Sometimes victims don’t know how to report ASB and if they do report it they feel that appropriate action hasn’t been taken.”
South Yorkshire Police have stated that they will continue to work with local councils to ensure communities have the best possible support around ASB.