The recent spate of anti-social behaviour in Crowland that includes hate crimes is ‘shocking’, said Lincolnshire Police Inspector Gareth Boxall.
In a statement about the town’s troubles, which left a wake of slashed tyres and smashed windows, Insp. Boxall said: “Crowland has suffered an ongoing problem with youth-related anti-social behaviour in the last few months.
“In response to this South Holland Police and South Holland District Council have been working hard to not only deal with the offenders and support victims but also work with partners to tackle the causes of those problems.
“Despite this work, these problems have continued and last weekend saw a significant increase in crime and anti-social behaviour in the town.”
The severity of the anti-social behaviour has escalated.
Insp. Boxall: “The youth-related anti-social behaviour is shocking. These young people have targeted some of the most vulnerable in the community and we have investigated several hate crimes as a result. We completely recognise the impact that such crimes have on victims and the community and the misery that anti-social behaviour causes.”
Authorities have met to try to tackle the problem, said Insp. Boxall.
“On Thursday evening, I and a local officer met with Parish, District and County Councillors to provide an update on what action we have been taking and plan to take. We are grateful for the support that local councillors are giving us and their offer of help in solving these problems.
We have a significant increase in officers patrolling Crowland currently but this is only one way that we can solve these problems. We investigate all crimes reported to us and my plea to the local community is:
- Report incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour to us (at the time it is happening if possible).
- Inform us of any information you might have about who is responsible for specific incidents.
- Tell us if your own private CCTV or ‘Dash Cam’ footage captures any footage.
Even where a criminal offence has not occurred, we are determined to tackle anti-social behaviour and we have a stepped procedure in place for doing this.
“Where young people are involved in anti-social behaviour, they are subject to a staged warning process and, where their conduct does not improve,would find themselves subject to a formal injunction placed by a court which can enforce measures such as curfews. Throughout that process we work with youths and parents to address behaviour. Many parents are supportive but I am disappointed that some are not. I repeat my message to parents:
- Know where your teenage children are and what they are doing
- If we come knocking at your door; we are there for a reason. Anti-social behaviour causes real misery to people’s lives.
- Support us in tackling your child’s behaviour. If warnings aren’t taken seriously by youths and you their parents, and that behaviour continues, there is a real chance you will be standing with your son or daughter in court whilst they are issued an injunction or prosecuted for a criminal offence.
“We will continue to have increased patrols in Crowland but will also our work with partners to address the behaviour of individual offenders and seek to educate all young people in the area of the impact that anti-social behaviour has on victims and the wider community.”
Insp. Boxall also spoke about the spate of thefts in the town.
“We believe the thefts from these vans were carried out by criminals visiting the area specifically for the purpose of committing these crimes and may be related to recent thefts in other towns and areas throughout South Lincolnshire in recent weeks; we have a wider plan in place to deal with that problem,” he said.
