Plain clothes police officers are monitoring traveller encampments in response to residents’ complaints of anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Sussex Police officers have been visiting sites around the city over the last few months in a bid to identify individuals accused of carrying out criminal behaviour.

Travellers at encampments in Brighton and Hove have been accused of a series of incidents in the past week including the threatening use of a knife, criminal damage of a butterfly bank and the use of untaxed vehicles.

The recent incidents have led Conservative councillors to call for an urgent review of Brighton and Hove City Council and Sussex Police responses to unauthorised traveller encampments.

Woodingdean councillor Steve Bell claimed action was only taken to move an encampment from the lawn memorial cemetery site after he contacted council chief executive Penny Thompson, chief superintendent Nev Kemp and police commissioner Katy Bourne personally.

The party has renewed calls for a “much more rapid response” and for the use of injunctions to keep travellers off specified sites.

Coun Bell said he was exploring the possibility of drawing up bylaws on sensitive sites to allow for quicker evictions.

He said the council may have to look to create more transit sites or expand existing ones to prevent the current “merry-go-round”.

He added: “I am looking for a 24/7 365 days a year cover from the council; at the moment it just operates 9-5 Monday to Friday.

“We spend about £180,000 a year cleaning up rubbish and mess left behind by travellers so they can’t claim there isn’t the money to do this.” Chief superintendent Kemp said while officers attempted to visit new unauthorised encampments with council staff within 24 hours, assessments were usually made within a few hours.

He said legal powers were limited because of the closure of Horsdean transit site but promised the situation will “greatly improve” next year with the re-opening of the expanded site.

He added: “Where any offences are identified, such as damage, we work hard to try and identify who is responsible.

“This is often a challenge because of a lack of witnesses and other evidence, but we have gone to great lengths to follow up lines of enquiry, identify those responsible, arrest them and bring them to justice and will continue to do so.”

Geoff Raw, the city council’s executive director for environment, said a section 61 notice was agreed for travellers on the cemetery site within 24 hours because of the “sensitivity” of the area and following reports of children inside the cemetery boundaries.