Andrew toured the area with PC Charlie Bamber, County Councillor Jeff Couperthwaite and Cllr Clare Hunter whilst discussing the types of anti-social behaviour issues that are being raised by local people, looking at identified hotspots and discussing what officers and partners are doing, and can do, to tackle it.

Andrew then joined a residents’ meeting at Bamber Bridge Football Club attended by residents and stakeholders to further discuss concerns, with the Commissioner highlighting positive changes that have already happened within his first year in office, such as the reopening of a police front counter within the borough, and investment into returning dedicated 24/7 response policing back into South Ribble. There is also more to come with the establishment of a specialist ASB unit, more use of civil powers, and more officers on our streets.

Speaking afterwards, Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire said:

“People continue to raise anti-social behaviour as one of their main concerns and it’s a blight on communities, making people feel unsafe in their homes and on the streets. It’s why getting out in places like Lostock Hall and Bamber Bridge with local councillors to hear about the issues they’re seeing, and talking directly with residents, is so important.

“As one of my key Fighting Crime Plan priorities is my commitment to tackling anti-social behaviour in all its forms is clear and I am already working with the Constabulary to establish a specialist antisocial-behaviour unit, building on what we’ve already been doing here in South Ribble and across the county to strengthen neighbourhood policing.

“I also launched my Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund to take the ill-gotten gains from criminals and invest it into our local neighbourhoods to prevent and deter crime. Whilst my Fighting Crime Plan rightly focuses on enforcement and taking the fight to criminals, delivering my priorities cannot be done through arrests alone, given ages and the type of offences.

“Whether intimidation and aggression, drug dealing, or the anti-social use of vehicles to name just a few, I have made clear that tackling ASB is vital for us in Lancashire as I lead the fight against crime and deliver on the issues that matter most to people.”

The Police and Crime Commissioner is currently running a county wide anti-social behaviour survey to get a full picture of the scale and types of anti-social behaviour (ASB), to identify hotspots and to look at how the police and local partners can work better together to get tough on ASB and to keep local communities safe.- this can be found here: https://lpcc.overseerdns.co.uk/anti-social-behaviour-survey