Police praise for efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour in Washington – but warn ‘lighter, brighter, warmer weather’ could see incidents rise

Northumbria Police representatives at the latest meeting of the Washington Area Committee said antisocial behaviour reports in recent months had fallen by almost a fifth compared to the same period last year.

Along with highlighting a number of force initiatives, praise was given to the number of organisations putting on activities for young people.

Inspector Steve Passey, speaking to the Sunderland City Council panel on Thursday (June 30), said: “Antisocial behaviour is actually down 19% since last year, I can only attribute that to all the good work the Washington area has done over the last 12 months.

“There is a lot of youth provision that goes on in Washington which isn’t replicated across the city.

“We’ve also got a number of antisocial behaviour initiatives that the police have put in across Washington and each one is bespoke to the needs and what’s happening in that area and all the actions are recorded.”

It was noted that overall incidents have increased since the previous area committee meeting in March this year, but this was expected by police due to the “lighter, brighter, warmer weather” attracting more young people to play outdoors.

Current hotspot areas in Washington being targeted by police include “in and around Lambton, Fatfield and The Galleries.”

Insp Passey added each area has a dedicated neighbourhood officer who is working with partner organisations and parents to help divert potential culprits away from trouble.

And the force has already had success in deterring some repeat offenders.

He said: “We’ll continue to do that work with our partners and our partners in the voluntary sector as well to divert them.

“A couple I’m glad to say have been diverted away and we’re not seeing some of the repeat offenders that have been in the last six months.

“But if we can’t work with the person we will use the law, we will pursue them through the criminal justice system.”

Examples given of recent “success stories” in Washington included work seizing motorcycles used to commit antisocial behaviour, and educating the individuals.