Rise in antisocial behaviour across Northamptonshire
The Police Fire and Crime panel have noted an increase
A councillor has criticised a continued rise in anti-social behaviour in Northamptonshire, raising concerns that the increase is because “people have no fear of being arrested”.
West and North Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC and NNC) joint Police, Fire and Crime Panel heard at a meeting today (Thursday, September 18) that the number of anti-social behaviour (ASB) offences reported in the county had grown by 17 per cent year on year.
The number of offences peaked in June 2025, with 1,582 ASB incidents reported in one month alone. This was branded as ‘abnormally high’ by the force, even with an expected seasonal increase in anti-social behaviour in the summer months.
Cllr Eddie McDonald, NNC’s Reform UK deputy leader who also sits on the panel, described the issue as a “blight on many people’s lives”.
He continued: “Some of it can be very serious with huge implications on people’s lives, and we, certainly in Corby, have individuals who are bordering on taking their own life because of the inactivity.
“The feedback that comes back from the residents in Corby is that they don’t report it because the police and the Council don’t do anything, or that’s their perception.”
Recently, North Northants set out a new policy to tackle ASB through early and preventative action. Both unitary councils have also put in place specific public space protection orders (PSPOs) so their own officers are able to respond to certain anti-social behaviour in identified hot spots.
Cllr McDonald added: “It basically comes down to the fact that people do what they want because they’ve got no fear of being arrested, they’ve got no fear of being prosecuted, they’ve got no fear of being convicted and they’ve got no fear of being punished.
“Unless the police do the important bits in stopping the behavior immediately when the public see it, we’ll be having the same conversation several years from now.
“We’ve got to get them into the system and that means bobbies locking them up.”
In the 12 months leading up to June 2023, 11,477 ASB incidents were reported, rising to 14,252 in the last year up to June 2025. Northamptonshire Police’s ASB crime rate has also consistently been above the national average and that of its most similar police forces in the last year.
Responding, Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), Danielle Stone said that anti-social behaviour had to be addressed by a number of organisations, not just policing.
She explained that her team was working with partners in the criminal justice system to investigate introducing an intensive supervision court, which is designed to address the root causes of offending behaviour and reduce reoffending. The Ministry of Justice is currently seeking to expand the pilot scheme based on its success in Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Teesside.
The PFCC explained: “Where we know lots of anti-social behaviour is happening and we want to work with people to change their life and alter their behaviours that will give us an opportunity to do that.
“We’ve experienced some really extreme behaviours and that’s why neighbourhood policing is a really top priority for the Chief Constable and me. But, we need to do an awful lot more than that, we need to really understand what’s going on with this kind of lawlessness.”
She added that she wanted to see better outreach work for drug and alcohol addiction, as well as stopping the number of exclusions in schools and providing safe spaces for young people, which are ‘multi-agency matters’.