Police are battling a rising tide of vandalism in Arbroath as recorded incidents of anti-social behaviour soar across Angus to more than 6000 in the past year.
The scale of the problem has been highlighted in a report by Chief Superintendent Paul Anderson of Police Scotland placed before Angus Council’s scrutiny and audit committee
There are fears a rise in recorded crimes will followand Councillor Derek Wann, the local authority’s convener of children and learning called for “drastic action”.
In the report, Mr Anderson said: “The overall number of disorder complaints has risen 2.3 % to 4741 recorded incidents.
“Aligned to this, reports of anti-social behaviour have increased by 1058 to a total of 6292 reported incidents.
“These incidents are most significantly felt in Arbroath where youth-related disorder is a particular issue.
“If underlying incidents remain at the same level this will lead to an increase in recorded crimes. This type of activity drives crimes like vandalism which remain high at around 800 incidents with a detection rate of 30.1%.”
A number of serious issues of vandalism and anti-social behaviour have been reported in the town, including broken farm polytunnels, a shelter at Victoria Park which suffered more than £1,000 worth of damage and repeated acts of vandalism reported on social media at the Ernest Street allotments.
Inspector Gary Aitken from Police Scotland said: “’We are aware of the increase and are working with partner agencies to address the issue.
“The majority of young people in Arbroath never come to the attention of the police, but unfortunately there is a minority that get involved in anti-social behaviour or disorder.
“Antisocial behaviour, such as large groups of people congregating and making lots of noise, is a nuisance for residents and causes concern.
“Residents, particularly older members of the community can feel intimidated by large groups.
“I would encourage residents and businesses to report any anti-social behaviour or disorder to Police Scotland on 101 and anyone found to be responsible will be reported to the relevant authorities’.”
Mr Wann said:”It is very concerning to see this increase in vandalism and I have asked in the past that parents attempt to ensure they know what their children are up to of an evening.
“Being a parent myself I understand that this is not easy but something drastic needs to happen to ensure that, what will be a minority of younger people do not cause any more vandalism.
“The youths that are causing this trouble need to know that we are all paying for the repairs, meaning other projects are being left behind.
“If more education is needed then this needs to be looked at and I will bring this up at council.”
