Bedfordshire Police held a multi-agency conference this month, bringing together key partners from across the county for July’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week, highlighting the devastating impact ASB can have on communities.
Police are aware that when the sun comes out, the numbers of ASB cases also rise. With a known spike in reports across Bedfordshire, Tuesday, 1 July was the perfect time to hold the conference “to promote awareness and drive meaningful action”.
Victim’s Commissioner Baroness Helen Newlove spoke powerfully about the murder of her husband, Garry, in 2007, due to unchecked and escalating ASB.
She believes he could still be alive today if police and partners had effectively tackled the issues affecting their neighbourhood.
In her keynote speech, she urged attendees about the necessity of doing more, saying, “when it goes unchecked, it can have such devastating consequences”.
She said that if, as a community, we started to understand how to properly deal with ASB, listening and engaging correctly when concerns are brought forward, then it would bring “a glimmer of light to those drowning in a sea of darkness”.
The conference brought an array of professionals from Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Council alongside police and crime commissioner John Tizard.
Local charities, emergency services and community safety organisations also presented case studies of behaviour, sharing best practice and opportunities to improve multi-agency responses to ASB.
The organiser of the event, Community Policing lead Superintendent Hob Hoque, talked about a new campaign that will begin in ASB Awareness Week and continue through the whole of the summer, under the banner of Working Together for Bedfordshire.
A plan that reinforces the idea of safety being a community responsibility and to “promote and drive meaningful action” as a wider collaborative initiative.
The event was officially opened by Assistant Chief Constable John Murphy, who emphasised the real-world consequences that individuals and neighbourhoods face with ASB.
He said: “In 2024-25, Bedfordshire Police recorded a total of 10,856 ASB incidents. But behind each of our anti-social behaviour cases there is a victim – someone whose quality of life is being affected by the actions of others.
“That’s why it’s important for us to prevent ASB and deal appropriately with those committing it, to create safer spaces for the residents of Bedfordshire to live and work. Tackling ASB is central to our mission to serve and protect the public.”
Which is why the prevention of ASB, and the punishment of committed crimes is seen as vital to the protection of the public.
Published as part of our work experience partnership with Sharnbrook Academy
