Grantham, Stamford, Lincoln and Skegness among anti-social hotspots named in £1m strategy to curb disruptive behaviour

Anti-social behaviour hotspots across the county have been revealed in a new report.

Lincolnshire County Council’s public protection and communities scrutiny committee will examine a new £1 million strategy to curb problem behaviour issues across the region on Tuesday next week (May 14).

The report outlines the current ASB landscape in Lincolnshire, citing an average of 14,000 to 14,500 ASB incidents reported to Lincolnshire Police annually.

The report highlights that the figure could be considerably higher if ASB dealt with via district councils or crimes not counted as ASB, such as criminal damage, graffiti, or public order offences, were taken into account.

Analysis of ASB data reveals hotspots in areas such as Grantham town east and Wainfleet and Burgh Le Marsh, where ASB is the highest reported crime type.

Additionally, locations like Skegness, Lincoln City Centre, and Stamford town centre experience the highest recorded levels of ASB.

The top ASB complaints include inconsiderate behaviour (39%), household disputes (16%), drunken behaviour (8%), and vehicle nuisance (8%).

The report from Martin Samuels, executive director of adult care and community wellbeing, said: "Anti-social behaviour is costly.

“As well as the personal cost to human suffering and missed life chances, the estimated cost of late interventions to the economy is nearly £20.6 billion per year.

“Of this, £850 million is attributed to anti-social behaviour.

“These proposals are made with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of how we tackle anti-social behaviour in Lincolnshire; providing the capability to better understand our communities and what matters most to them and increase capacity to deliver targeted early intervention and prevention work, and community engagement.”

The initiative before councillors highlights a two-year investment plan developed in collaboration with various stakeholders, including children’s services, district council ASB leads, community safety staff, and Lincolnshire Police.

The plan involves a multifaceted approach to tackling ASB, including targeted interventions, preventative education programmes in schools, and community engagement initiatives.

This involves funding for extra staff, including hiring new Safety Officers and ASB intervention teams, to work closely with district councils, police, and social landlords for targeted interventions and support services.