Action Against East Putney Teenagers Results In Prestigious Award

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Wandsworth given for tackling yobbish and anti-social behaviour that plagued a small estate

The borough has been named as the winner of a prestigious new London-wide crimefighting award for its work in combating the activities of a group of teenagers who were bringing misery to residents living in Strathan Close.

Residents in this cul-de sac had been subject to unacceptable levels of anti social behaviour from some local youths, including rowdyism, starting small rubbish fires, climbing on garages, setting off fireworks, daubing graffiti on walls, riding motorcycles dangerously and causing noise and general litter problems.

Working in close partnership with the East Putney  safer neighbourhoods team, the council and police took firm and swift action to identify the culprits and devise a comprehensive action plan to tackle their behaviour and bring an end to the residents' misery.

Sergeant Matt Snowden said
“Although East Putney Safer Neighbourhood Team are the proud recipients of this fantastic award, it does not belong to us alone. The significant decrease in anti-social behaviour was only possible due to close partnership work between us, the residents, Wandsworth Council, the local Councillor, L and Q Housing and Wandsworth Youth Offending Team.
This reduction in anti-social behaviour is a testament to the hard work and tenacity of everyone involved".

The town hall's community safety division and housing departments worked together with the SNT to set up a resident's association and a local neighbourhood watch, to improve the flow of information between local people and the authorities and also to make sure that residents were able to properly voice their concerns. 

Physical changes were also made by the housing department to the layout of the estate to deter offending - including the removal of an enclosed area where youths were able to congregate. Graffiti on the estate was quickly removed and better lighting introduced. The council's waste management team also undertook more intensive cleaning to ensure that youths could not set waste materials ablaze.   

Meanwhile the parents of the youths involved were contacted in a bid to gain their assistance in curbing their children's behaviour.  Many of the young people were required to sign acceptable behaviour contracts, while others were considered for anti-social behaviour orders.

The housing department also informed these parents that the behaviour of their children could lead to them losing their tenancies.

Meanwhile, the council's youth offending team and officers in the SNT worked with each young person to direct their energies into less problematic activities and other diversionary projects.

As a result, the residents have reported a noticeable difference in the atmosphere on the estate. As a measure of success, calls about anti-social behaviour have dropped from an average of approximately one per day to just one per month.

This successful joint approach by the police and council has led to the borough being named as the winner of the Safer Communities Award in the 2010 Safer London Problem Oriented Partnership Awards.

This award is organised by the Metropolitan Police Authority, the Metropolitan Police Service, Transport for London and the Safer London Foundation (SLF) - a charity whose aims are to reduce crime, promote community cohesion and develop safer neighbourhoods through innovative community-led crime reduction projects.

The town hall's community safety spokesman Cllr James Cousins said: "This award is worthy recognition of the success that has been witnessed in this part of East Putney as a result of the extremely good working relationship that exists between the council, the police and the local community.

"By developing a broad and coherent strategy that tackled this anti-social behaviour on many different fronts, we have seen a vast improvement on this estate, and ensured that the resident no longer have to endure such unacceptable activities in their neighbourhood.

Kit Malthouse, designate chairman of the MPA, said:
"It is vital that London’s police and the agencies they work with to help create safer neighbourhoods come together and use the powers at their disposal intelligently. Putting effective crime fighting initiatives into action and restoring public confidence in the Met and its partners are key strands of Met Forward, the MPA’s strategic plan to focus everyone involved on fighting and preventing crime."

 

February 25, 2010