FEARS have grown that incidents of antisocial behaviour are increasing because there are fewer Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) on the streets.

Police crime data unearthed by the Argus shows that anti-social behaviour has increased sharply through the course of 2016 in Brighton and Hove, while PCSOs have been reduced in number and taken off their traditional street beats.

Brighton and Hove City Council figures also show a marked increase in anti-social behaviour in recent months and councillors are so concerned that there is all-party support for a motion calling for a rethink over PCSO changes.

Sussex Police stress that anti-social behaviour in the year to September is actually down 15 per cent on the previous 12 months.

But experts are concerned that this is a result of fewer PCSOs being available to receive reports from residents.

The Sussex Police crime map data for the city of Brighton and Hove shows that recorded anti-social behaviour jumped 35 per cent through this year from an average of 770 over January February and March, to an average of 1,036 over July August and September - the last months for which data is available.

However the monthly average for 2016 so far is actually nine per cent down on the monthly average for 2015.

Police anti-social behaviour figures cover incidents including people kicking objects in the street, shouting in the street, moving street furniture around and dumping a shopping trolley in a stream.

The council records anti-social behaviour very differently but their figures also show a spike of late, with an average of 28 incidents in the first three months of the year doubling to an average of 57 over the last three months.

Over this year Sussex Police have been decreasing PCSO numbers and, in July, changed their role from that of a ‘bobby on the beat’ to working in hubs and being used in targeted teams.

The city had 49 PCSOs in December of last year but that number fell to a low of 32 in July and August, though it has since risen again to 40.

Union boss Andy Stenning, head of Unison police and justice for Sussex Police, said: “Because they’ve cut the numbers they can no longer provide that service and they no longer put PCSOs on beats."

He warned that official figures may be underestimating the scale of the problem because anti-social behaviour is no longer being reported since PCSOs are not around to hear residents’ complaints.

He said: "I’ve been associated with policing for 38 years and I can tell you that if there’s no way of notifying the authority of what’s going on, then people don’t do it.”

Councillor Emma Daniel, chairwoman of the council’s neighbourhoods committee, said: “Residents are experiencing more and more problems but they aren’t reporting them properly because they don’t have a PCSO to talk to.

“We’re jointly calling on [Police and Crime Commissioner] Katy Bourne to reverse her position on neighbourhood policing. We think more PCSOs are needed.”

Zoe Kyriacou, who was subjected to terrifying anti-social harrassment by a gang of youths in The Level last month, said: “The police do a sterling job, but everyone says The Level is getting worse, you can’t go there any more.”

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said that PCSO numbers reflected the assessed need, adding: “PCSOs continue to conduct foot patrols – however, working more flexibly, they are targeted to areas where we know they can make a difference.

“They no longer undertake random patrols as these are proven to have no impact on crime reduction.”

WORRIES OVER YOBBISH ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

RESIDENTS are warning councillors that they are worried about a rise in yobbish behaviour.

“It’s not the police officers’ fault, but you can’t have the same level of engagement when you don’t have PCSOs on the street,” said Portslade councillor Peter Atkinson.

It is a view much expressed during our investigation into antisocial behaviour and PCSO numbers.

Councillors have heard repeatedly from residents that incidents of yobbish behaviour are on the rise, in a period which coincides with Sussex Police’s controversial decision to reduce and redeploy PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers).

The annual figures suggest crime and antisocial behaviour are down, but the month-by-month breakdown through 2016 shows a sharp rise since the spring.

The decision was taken by Sussex Police this year to reduce numbers across the force from a peak of 260 last January to 196 by January 2017. And since July, officers have greater powers, but a “hub-based” role very different from their former patrol brief.

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police explained: “These numbers are based on what the workload of PCSOs will be in the future, due to other changes in the force, such as the introduction of the Resolution Centre.

“PCSOs are more flexible in how they work and their new skills and powers make them more effective as they work alongside the community to proactively problem solve. They work when and where they are needed, logging on remotely as well as working from police stations and shared premises.”

However, a number of incidents recently have highlighted residents’ concerns.

In late October, Zoe Kyriacou and her children were subjected to an ordeal at The Level in Brighton that she likened to a scene from the book Lord of the Flies.

Ms Kyriacou, 34, and her nine-year-old son were “mobbed” by a group of around 20 youths wielding skateboards in the terrifying attack and told The Argus that she and her son are now scared to go back to the park after the incident in broad daylight.

A gang of 20 youngsters – aged from about eight to 13 – rounded on them and chanted “get off The Level”, and banged their skateboards against lamp-posts, cornering the pair.

She explained: “It was like an electric spark went through all of them like they were waiting for something.”

Critics blamed the problem on a lack of visible policing turning areas of the city into no-go areas.

Andy Stenning, head of Sussex Police and Justice Unison, explained: “One member said to me that they were taking the community out of Police Community Support Officer and in many ways that’s what’s happened.

“They’re all in hubs now. In the past you had a group of PCSOs allocated to a police station and those PCSOs were allocated to beats.

“So you ended up with a dedicated PCSO looking after one or two beats and they got to know the beat and the people in them.

“So they could look after people and know who the troublemakers were – very much what police used to do.

“That’s all changed. Because they’ve cut the numbers they can no longer provide that service and they no longer put PCSOs on beats.”

He pointed out that Sussex Police were the only force in the South East to have made this change to the PCSO role, and asked: “It wasn’t broke so why did they change it?”

In mid-October The Argus reported that whole neighbourhoods rarely see uniformed officers since the change, as it was revealed a supermarket in Brighton had been hit by shoplifters 40 times in just two months.

Management at the Co-op in Western Road were said to be frustrated with the lack of police presence after brazen thieves strolled into the store and took alcohol from under the noses of helpless and frightened staff.

Norfolk Square residents also complained about a “steep upsurge” in anti-social behaviour which turned their streets into what they describe as a “no-go area”where drunken yobs fight, smash bottles, openly take drugs and use the streets as a latrine.

Councillor Emma Daniel told The Argus: “Councillors across the spectrum think it’s a problem. We’re so concerned across the parties we’re jointly putting a motion to committee of all three parties.

“At a special meeting in my ward a police officer said ‘I haven’t seen a spike in antisocial behaviour’ and people were laughing. They said they couldn’t get through to the 101 line to report it and didn’t have a phone number for their local PCSO any more.

“One woman was experiencing problems with young people around the hardstanding in front of her house, there had been vandalism, and she was too scared to report anything for fear of reprisals – and that’s the point of a PCSO you can talk to.”

All three political parties will propose a motion at the city council’s neighbourhoods, communities and equalities committee on November 28 noting the increase in anti-social behaviour and the fall in PCSO numbers, and asking Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne to amend her policy on neighbourhood policing.

MORE CASH, MORE OFFICERS

Analysis by crime reporter Flora Thompson

NOTHING exemplifies the importance of bobbies on the beat more than the role they played in catching murderer Luchiano Barnes.

Last year the Channel 4 documentary Murder Detectives showed how local knowledge and relationships built up with the community over years was vital in Avon and Somerset Police’s hunt for Nicholas Robinson’s killer.

It was word on the street in the wake of his death and information gleaned from conversations an officer had on his rounds in the St Paul’s area of Bristol that was pivotal in cracking this case.

In Brighton and Hove, no one is suggesting changes to PCSO roles will mean major crimes like murder will go unnoticed by Sussex Police.

But the seed of doubt is, unfortunately, already sown in the minds of councillors, union leaders and residents that everyday crime like antisocial behaviour could soar once these officers are hoicked off the streets and put behind desks.

The truth is the figures are complicated – there are factors behind the numbers which makes it far from black and white.

Particularly when it comes to looking at whether or not crimes have fallen simply because people are not reporting them as much because they have lost faith that the culprit behind the brick through their car window will ever be caught.

Police say there is no evidence to suggest a drop in PCSOs leads to a rise in anti-social behaviour and argue the newly-organised teams are a better way to serve the community.

They may be right. But there is no doubt yobbish behaviour or vandalism can all have a significant impact on those involved, emotionally and financially.

Most people just want the assurance of knowing who their local copper is, and how they can talk to them when crime happens.

Police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne wants the public to pay £5 more a year to fund extra officers and staff.

Perhaps if people knew this would mean keeping bobbies on the beat, they would be willing to reach further into their pockets.