Many Waltham Forest residents see formally reporting antisocial behaviour (ASB) to police as "a waste of time", according to the chair of the borough's crime panel. He is calling for reporting to be made easier.
The Metropolitan Police received 42 formal reports of ASB in the borough over the summer. There were ten in July and 23 in August, followed by nine in September. Reports usually rise in summer because of the hot weather and longer days, and crime in the borough has fallen by 5% over the past twelve months.
Philip Herilhy, chair of the borough's crime panel, said the formal figures do not match what residents are saying. "ASB, particularly the nuisance behaviours fuelled by alcohol and drug abuse, are widely complained about in local meetings, conversations and social media. Yet the number of formal reports shown in police briefings to ward panels don't reflect this at all," he said.
"Many residents feel that the effort of making a formal report is not reflected in changes they see, and many say it's a waste of time.
"If only a few people are reporting a continuing problem, it's unlikely to attract police attention, and that becomes a vicious circle where reports dry up – and the problem continues, with associated dissatisfaction.
"It's only by inducing residents to persist with reporting that anything's going to change."
Mr Herilhy said residents' expectations "needed to be managed". People should know that their reports are "principally contributing to an intelligence picture which may lead to action down the line", he said. He also said there is "too much friction" in the Met's main reporting channels: phone, the website and social media.
"Ultimately, if we can't make it feel easier and more 'satisfying' to make formal reports the numbers of reports won't begin to reflect actual levels of concern about some issues, and that has an impact on confidence in the police, which is itself a driver both of perceived safety and intolerance of crime," he said. "It matters. It needs attention."
What the Met says
The Met said it recognised the concerns residents had raised. It is understood the force will run targeted operations over the coming months to tackle pockets of repeat antisocial behaviour in Waltham Forest.
A spokesperson said: "We're committed to tackling the priorities that matter most to people, including anti-social behaviour. We recognise that being able to report incidents to the police is critical to maintaining people's confidence in policing.
"We are focused on improving our reporting services – reducing wait times, improving answer rates and making it easier for the public to contact us. That focus is paying off, with average 101 wait times falling by almost half in the last six months."
Who to report to
The Met pointed out that some ASB is handled by the council, not the police. "Local authorities are responsible for addressing certain anti-social behaviour matters, like noise nuisance and fly-tipping. The Met works closely with the council to take action against anti-social behaviour and ensure concerns are directed to the organisation best placed to resolve them," the spokesperson said.
In practice, that means problems like noise or fly-tipping should go to the council. Other antisocial behaviour can be reported to the police by phone on 101, on the Met's website or through its social media channels.
