Preston and Chorley centres named as antisocial behaviour hotspots that have been given extra police patrols

The county secured £2m of additional government funding earlier this year when it was selected as a pilot location to trial a new approach to tackling the issue. The cash will be used to boost the uniformed presence in known “hotspots” like high streets, parks and public transport - and he first of the additional patrols hit the beat this week

Lancashire is one of 10 areas piloting the hotspots programme nationwide, but as the Post reported in May, the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner has eschewed the option of using other uniformed authority figures – as well as police officers – to make up the patrol numbers.

Having already started to provide cash for non-police roles via the separate Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund, Andrew Snowden said that he wanted the full £2m to be spent “on [an] increased policing presence in local communities”.

The first hotspot areas - which also include the immediate vicinities of Preston and Chorley centres - have gone live in the same week as Operation Centurion. That is a broader overhaul of how antisocial behaviour is tackled by the police in the county,in order to ensure that it is more co-ordinated. That operation includes an increased use of civil powers – such as injunctions – to target individuals and geographical areas.

Responding to Preston city centre being amongst the first of the new hotspot locations, Preston City Council’s cabinet member for environment and community safety, Freddie Bailey, said that the authority welcomed the extra cash being spent to tackle antisocial behaviour.

He added: “[It] is a problem around the city and it has become worse due to severe budget cuts. Antisocial behaviour can have a variety of causes and the council is working with key partners to try to tackle these issues.

“We look forward to working more closely with the police and also to addressing the longer-term plan to focus on youth behaviour, particularly through the planned Youth Zone, which will help to occupy young minds by creating a safe space to provide sports, arts, performance and enterprise,” Cllr Bailey said.

Of the targeting of his town centre area by police, Chorley Council leader Alistair Bradley said: “Chorley continues to be a fantastic place to live, work and visit and we’re working hard to ensure this continues. It’s disappointing when a minority carry out antisocial behaviour in our borough, which residents and visitors should not have to tolerate.

“We’re working with partners to tackle this issue and are extremely pleased that Lancashire Constabulary and the Police and Crime Commissioner have recognised our calls for action in Chorley and have launched Operation Centurion, with the backing of an additional £2m from the government, to crack down on antisocial behaviour hotspots across Lancashire, including areas of Chorley, to take tough action against offenders and keep our communities safe.”

In addition to Preston and Chorley, the other areas of the county that are initially being focused upon are the town centres and adjacent streets of Fleetwood, Padiham and Accrington – along with the Brunswick ward in Blackpool.

Another eight locations will be announced later in the year, meaning that there will be one for every district in the county.

Elsewhere, Lancashire has also just received £1.4m from the latest round of the government’s Safer Streets Fund, which will be invested in crime prevention measures including better CCTV and street lighting, or local community projects – with a particular focus on driving down antisocial behaviour, preventing more burglaries and making the streets safer for women and girls.

The money will build on the previous four tranches of cash from that fund – totalling £2.6m for Lancashire – which has seen investment in six projects to date.

Andrew Snowden said that those initiatives had been shown to be “making a real difference in people’s lives”.

“We will utilise this [new] funding efficiently and effectively, supporting the delivery of my Fighting Crime Plan, working closely with Lancashire Police to back enforcement and ultimately prevent innocent people becoming victims.”