“The authorities are not taking this seriously.”
Concerns are still being raised about an increase in teenage anti-social behaviour in the West Wight.
Police have, however, sought to reassure residents issues are being tackled as a local priority with officer patrols and actively targeting youths who are involved in anti-social behaviour (ASB).
ASB incidents ‘escalating’
At a Freshwater Parish Council meeting last week, members felt there had been ‘escalating’ ASB incidents in the village and the police ‘were not doing anything’.
Councillor Brian Hinton said he and others were very concerned and the worry was it could lead to vigilante action.
Spate of incidents since start of the year
The problems were first raised in January when there was a spate of incidents which have continued.
Councillor Chris Jarman said the police were doing an excellent job in collating the material, but it was the Crown Prosecution Service which had decided not to progress some issues.
He said he understood people getting frustrated with the process but they had to be mindful of police resources on the Island and that Freshwater was not a hotspot, compared to Newport or Ryde.
Criticism of police
Having attended a police briefing, Councillor Jarman said he found it annoying that the police compared the Island and its level of crime to parts of Hampshire where the Island seemingly came out very well.
He said it doesn’t change the fact for locals or the perception there is a serious problem and the police seeking to dismiss that doesn’t help.
Local officer praised
The parish council did praise one local officer who had been ‘very supportive’ and was willing to talk to them at a later date.
A Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson said they work with community safety partners and local services to divert youngsters away from ASB ‘so they can make a positive contribution to society’.
Still a very small minority
The spokesperson said there was sadly still a very small minority whose continuous offending required them to take more robust actions through the courts.
Last week, two teenagers were prosecuted and today (Monday), police have charged a teenage boy with multiple alleged offences all supposedly taking place on School Green Road.
The spokesperson said,
“We continue to encourage affected residents to please keep reporting their concerns to us so we can take the most appropriate action.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: westmidlandspolice under CC BY 2.0
