SUSSEX Police are not doing enough to tackle antisocial behaviour or prevent crime - inspectors have found.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that the force is not engaging enough with communities and as a result “requires improvement” in the way is prevents crime and tackles antisocial behaviour.

Sussex Police was judged as 'good' overall - especially when it came to keeping people safe and reducing crime.

The force was commended for its work tackling county lines drug dealing operations.

The inspectorate said it was good at investigating crime and reducing re-offending, had a proactive approach to disrupting and investigating serious and organised crime.

The force was also praised for keeping victims safe and protecting vulnerable people.

However the inspection report said: “In our 2016 effectiveness inspection, we found that the way local policing teams in Sussex routinely engaged with the public required improvement, and that is still the case this year. There are limited opportunities for the force to interact with the public to gain an understanding of what matters locally. The new local policing teams cover a much larger geographic area than the previous neighbourhood teams, making it more difficult for local officers to gain in-depth understanding of their local communities. The force has also taken the decision to reduce its attendance at regular local public meetings, thereby reducing its opportunities to engage directly with communities.

“For the last two years, HMICFRS has expressed concern that decisions by Sussex Police to reduce staffing in local policing have limited the force’s ability to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.

“At the time of our inspection, it was evident that while we found elements of good practice, it was clear that neighbourhood teams were still only performing a limited function, often being redeployed from their main role, and doing responsive work rather than prevention. In addition, staff mainly react to calls for service, rather than carrying out prevention activity,

“It is also unclear why the use of anti-social behaviour powers has decreased by 79 percent when compared to the 12 months to 20 June 2016, or why repeat victimisation has risen by 10 percent."

A spokeswoman for the force said that they had made improvements since the inspection last summer. 

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Laurence Taylor said: “I am immensely proud of the hard work being undertaken every day by officers and staff to keep communities safe across Sussex.

“This includes improving how we initially assess and respond to all vulnerable people, such as those with mental health problems, taking proactive steps in the case of domestic abuse and working effectively with partners to keep people safe.

“We’ll prioritise areas where communities face the greatest challenges and where we are most stretched. This will include an increased focus on preventative policing, encouraging the public to share their knowledge of their neighbourhoods, sharing best practice, investigating the most harmful crimes and continuing to be accessible when the community needs us.

“I am absolutely determined that the public will see and feel a difference locally.”

A spokeswoman added:  "A number of changes have been made to enhance our service since the inspection took place last summer. These include the final change made to the force’s new local policing model, which has a strong focus on preventing crime and supporting those most at risk of threat and harm. 

"Teams are better equipped with enforcement powers and technology to enable them to spend more time in communities that are most affected by crime or anti-social behaviour and have received enhanced training in respect of problem solving. Policing methods must adapt to the changing picture of criminality and our flexible, scalable model, enables us to accommodate changes in demand. The new teams are supported with analysts that help them to spot trends and issues before they escalate and contain ASB and hate crime co-ordinators who help to inform team activity and build cases against those causing nuisance and harm.

"The totality of local policing includes the Prevention Teams, working with a vast network of partners to identify the best ways to solve problems; Response Teams responding to emergencies and being there when they are needed and Investigation Teams who investigate professionally and effectively. The teams within local policing work tirelessly together to keep Sussex safe, but they don’t work in isolation. Over and above this are force, regional and national services delivered in support of local policing.

Importantly, prevention teams, including PCSOs, are ring fenced to do prevention work, working more efficiently and effectively to prevent crime and actively target local issues.

"Their use of improved technology allows them to be more mobile and efficient. They are accessible when the community need them, with people able to contact them directly, by phone or email, to discuss local issues. They attend key community meetings and where there is a policing issue to be discussed, in line with a revised service level agreement.

"Engagement with local communities remains a key priority for the teams to maintain public trust and confidence and to understand the issues that affect or concern communities most. We would always encourage the public to report concerns to us via a variety of channels, as this enables us to pre-empt and prevent issues developing."