'Intimidating youths' spark action on antisocial behaviour in Doncaster town

I have been the neighbourhood inspector for Doncaster East for a month now, having taken over the post at the start of January. I am currently learning about the area and meeting people all across the area. We also have a new sergeant, Sgt Mike Miles.

One of the first issues that has raised its head has been antisocial behaviour, mostly around Junction Road and Princess Avenue. It has largely been large, intimidating groups of youths, who have caused minor damage.

The issue seems to have surfaced as I was arriving in this area, and we quickly put in place a plan for a day of action to deal with it, alongside other agencies like the council, St Leger Homes, and the Environment Agency.

We carried out some stop and searches, and family visits with St Leger Homes to people involved with antisocial behaviour. There seems to have been a noticeable decline in incidents following this action, but we continue to keep an eye on it.

During the day, there were 12 visits to properties by St Leger Homes, a fixed penalty fine for littering, six penalty charge notices, and seven visits to pubs or off licences for licences checks.

We also got 30 people to sign up for alerts to their emails from South Yorkshire Police, that are available through the force website.

Other issues that we have looked at have included shoplifting in Thorne. We are working with shopkeepers, through the local business forum to find any patterns so that we can put measures in place. There have also been speeding operations in Armthorpe, involving members of the local community there.

We also recently carried out a joint operation with the Environment Agency at a caravan park. It saw £1 million worth of computer software seized. The operation was as a result of tyres being burned in Hatfield, which had led to many complaints. Since the warrant last Monday, we have not heard any mention of the tyres problem, which had been frequently raised prior to that.