Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has outlined how a £730k funding boost is tackling antisocial behaviour (ASB) across the county. 

Darryl Preston is highlighting some of the success so far as part of ASB Awareness Week, which begins on Monday. 

The installation of CCTV at locations repeatedly targeted by vandals and measures to prevent fly-tipping are among the projects that have made a difference for communities.   

Mr Preston said: “There is absolutely no place for ASB or other nuisances in our communities.  

“The people of Cambridgeshire work long and hard for a living and deserve to go home to a safe and peaceful neighbourhood. 

“This is why I am determined to stop ASB in its tracks.” 

Last year, the Commissioner provided a £730k funding package for the county’s six Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs). 

The funding’s aim is to deliver tougher action on the public's priorities, including speeding and ASB.  

CSPs are made up of local organisations including councils, police, fire and rescue and community representatives who work together to address local issues that the police are unable to solve alone.   

Some of the funding has paid for new Problem-Solving Coordinators for three years to work with communities and partners to resolve persistent issues such as ASB.  

These co-ordinators also work with new ASB Co-ordinators paid for through a Home Office fund. 

In East Cambridgeshire, for example, CCTV has been installed in public toilets that were repeatedly vandalised on Fountain Lane, Soham.  

Staff were also being threatened, forcing the much-needed facility to close.  

The issue was raised with partners which led to arson awareness signs put up by the fire service, local schools talking to their students and increased police patrols. 

Meanwhile, Fenland District Council secured £1,450 from the PCC’s Safer Communities Fund to clear fly-tipping waste from a site in New Drove.  

The council also worked with the landowner to create a soil bund in front of the ditch where most of the waste is dumped – and there has since been a noticeable reduction in fly-tipping at the site.  

Funding has also been allocated to Fenland District Council’s Street Pride initiative to provide equipment to volunteers who collected 100 nitrous oxide cannisters over three months. 

It is hoped by clearing the debris and keeping the areas clean and tidy, this will deter future incidents of anti-social behaviour involving nitrous oxide.     

Two ASB co-ordinators for Peterborough and Fenland are helping communities resolve ASB issues with £402k funding from the Home Office.  

Mr Preston added: “My investment in our CSPs and communities is already delivering results against the priorities the public have told us matter to them.  

“Across the county, partners are working swiftly and collaboratively to solve problems and are providing urgent respite to victims. But we will not stop there.  

“Building confidence and trust in the response to ASB is a top priority and I will continue to give our partners and our communities the support they need to keep on making a difference.”