Anti-social behaviour in Downham Market: Why is it so prevalent and what are the police doing to stop teens going down the wrong track?
As I walk through Downham town centre with Inspector Ben Jarvis, three young boys stroll past us at a zebra crossing.
“Ohhh no,” they sarcastically exclaim when they spot us.
“You can’t say that, boys, when there’s a police officer nearby,” Insp Jarvis tells them. I doubt it’s the first time he’s had that reaction.
The interaction was fitting - I was being given a tour to highlight the major problems with anti-social behaviour the market town is currently facing. Teenagers and school children are the main culprits.
For a town looking to identify itself as a food experience destination, this is hardly an ideal situation. The police want to make clear that on the whole, Downham is a pleasant place to visit.
However, there are issues to address - and officers are doing just that by employing multiple different tactics.
Insp Jarvis says it is mainly “small pockets” of youths who are causing the majority of issues. We’ve taken a deep dive to find out the root of the problem and what is being done to tackle it…
A WIDE RANGE OF PROBLEMS
Just last week, two boys were arrested in Downham in connection with anti-social behaviour. They were too young to be named.
One was charged with two counts of causing harassment, alarm and distress and has been bailed with strict conditions until his appearance at Lynn Youth Court in November.
The other has been bailed pending further enquiries, with strict conditions, until January.
Insp Jarvis has confirmed that both were previously known to the police.
This followed a summer of trouble in the town. During the school holidays, Norfolk County Council was forced to deploy security guards to the library to combat “unacceptable” and “unsettling” behaviour from youngsters over a number of weeks.
This was the latest in a line of anti-social behaviour problems, with Downham Town Council reporting that drug paraphernalia had been found near the skate park a few weeks prior.
Graffiti has also been an issue recently, as has people taking their dogs to the skate park despite it being against the rules.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
As Insp Jarvis and I walk towards some of the incident hot spots, he tells me there are “ringleaders” who officers are aware of.
“There's those few, and then the few followers, who tend to cause the main issues,” he says.
“It comes in waves - I think that's the easiest thing to say. We are on it as much and as often as we can be. Everyone I know appreciates that we can’t be there waiting for this to happen.”
He says that when he speaks to the parents of those involved, around 85% of them are shocked and appalled to hear what their children are getting involved in.
Despite being given firm tellings off, a lot of these youngsters will return to school the following day, become galvanised when they reunite with friends, and do the same thing all over again.
“The perception that it never goes away is always going to be reinforced by those who come out and commit offences - those little pockets,” Insp Jarvis adds.
“The work that we're doing is an ongoing process, and we will never eradicate it because, as sad as it, there's always someone who's just about old enough now to come up and start to be on that periphery as well.
“It's very hard to pinpoint, because you've got social factors and economic factors as well that link into all of it. Unfortunately, some of it does come down to personal responsibility.”
WHAT IS BEING DONE?
For the police, dealing with young offenders is as much about education as it is about punishment.
A teenager who has just been caught causing criminal damage for the first time, for instance, may be given a stern talking to and told about various groups they can get involved with.
In Downham, these include the Swan Youth Project, which allows young people to take part in a wide range of different activities.
However, those who are more prolific with their offending will be dealt with in a more “robust” way. This involves an escalation process beginning with “frank and honest discussions” with parents, leading up to home visits, community resolutions, and finally arrests, charges and court appearances.
“With the local community, it also starts with the schools as well,” Insp Jarvis says.
“There is a huge reliance on citizenship, for lack of a better phrase - that understanding that we all live in this world. Treat people as you'd want to be treated and behave as you'd want others to behave as well.”
WHERE ARE THE HOT SPOTS?
When teenagers commit offences in Downham, there are regular targets which crop up again and again.
The Tesco and Morrisons supermarkets in the town centre are among them, as are undercover areas - while, as already mentioned, the library has been hit hard.
There have also been instances of random shop windows being “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when youths are walking by, with business owners left frustrated by mindless damage.
Insp Jarvis says: “All of our beat managers have taken this on as a priority. It's our neighbourhood priority, which effectively means increased foot patrols, but also increased input with the businesses.
“All of them have been invited, or will be invited, to speak with our designing out crime officer, because there is a degree of some areas, due to their architectural build-up, lending themselves to be more susceptible to anti-social behaviour.”
Recently, issues such as drug use and electric scooter misuse have been reported in Downham too.
However, Insp Jarvis believes these sorts of incidents are more likely to be a one-off, rather than a symptom of deep-lying problems.
HOW TO CRACK DOWN ON ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?
“The main thing is visibility,” the Inspector adds.
“It's an incredibly busy time at the moment - it has been over the summer, and the demand is still really heavy.
“Whenever the beat officers can get into Downham, I’m making sure that they're fully briefed on not only the issues that are going on, but also the policing expectation so that we have this driven approach rather than multiple angles and ideas.
“A lot of what we do is geared around catching people at an early age - and when I say catching people, I mean catching their attention.
“Certainly from my days working as PC, which is my background, the best successes I had was from building those bridges with people at a really early stage.”
A POSITIVE FUTURE?
A lot of the ongoing work tackling anti-social behaviour is part of a bid to make Downham a more pleasant place to live and raise families.
Officers are keen to put across the message to these youngsters that by acting in a negative way, they are shaping the society they will grow up in.
“Think about how your behaviour is going to affect not only everyone around you in the now, but also you in the future,” Insp Jarvis warns.
“What may seem like harmless fun now may have a very significant impact on any young person's future.”
But there is plenty of work to do, even when it comes to some young people’s attitude towards the police.
The three young boys who laugh and joke as they walk by us are a prime example. Is it all a joke to them? Will they come to realise that people simply want them to contribute to Downham in a positive way?
As we head of in the opposite direction, Insp Jarvis makes a sombre statement.
“Case in point.”
