Creating a safer Dalston – joint police and Council antisocial behaviour crackdown
More than 100 official warnings and notices have been issued in Dalston in less than three months as part of joint police and Hackney Council efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour in the area.
The initiative, which culminated in two days of action at Gillett Square and Kingsland Road, has seen 46 antisocial behaviour warnings, 25 community resolution orders, 26 community protection warnings and 12 community protection notices since November for a range of offences around antisocial hotspots.
These took place alongside a range of activities to engage local residents and improve community relations, including a police recruitment stand to provide information to residents considering applying for or interested in learning more about a career in law enforcement and a bike marking workshop, to offer cycle security advice to residents.
The crackdown comes after preventing antisocial behaviour was highlighted as one of the main priorities of local people in the Dalston Conversation – one of the Council’s biggest ever local engagement exercises which saw more than 5,000 people get involved in discussions about the future of their area.
Extra anti-knife crime, public reassurance and anti-robbery police patrols have also been active in the area. A recent knife arch operation, Safer Transport, led to three arrests for possession of offensive weapons. Eleven arrests have also been made relating either to drugs or on people wanted by the courts. Five people were charged for the drug offences.
Our events in Gillett Square were a great opportunity to bring the police, council and the community together and it was fantastic to see the local community engage so positively with the police. It is so important that we continue to build this trust and break down barriers between the police and the community.
Hackney Council will continue to work closely with the community and in partnership with the police to improve the area, address the rising crime rate in Dalston, and help create a safer environment for local residents.
This initiative follows work getting underway on a £1.5 million upgrade of Ridley Road and nearby Ashwin Street, and a Council intervention to secure the long-term future of Ridley Road Shopping Village.