Colchester winning battle on anti-social behaviour, police say

New figures from Essex Police show a 7.1 per cent fall in anti-social behaviour incidents in the 12 months leading to September 2024, thanks partly to cash injections from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) and Safer Streets funding.

During a street patrol last week Colchester Council and Essex Police said it led to street drinkers being moved on from key areas such as St Botolph’s Priory and Vineyard Street.

But the manager of Red Lion Books, Jo Coldwell, has said more still needs to be done during the daytime to stop people from drinking and shouting in the street.

She said: "There are people who shout so loudly – it’s prohibitive to what we are trying to do because we have to shut our door.

Concerned - Jo Coldwell, who is the manager of Red Lion Books in the High Street, said people shouting outside the bookshop deter customers (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

“Customers have said ‘can you shut the door?’, because when you speak to the people outside nicely, they say they are spreading the word of love, or Jesus, or pollution, or whatever.

“I have emailed councillors and taken it as far as I can go – when I finally got through to someone they said, ‘it’s such a pain isn’t it, but we can’t do anything’.”

In August, two weeks of patrols from the council and Essex Police resulted in 300 interactions with street drinkers to warn and disperse them.

George Rust, 16, who is from Halstead and studies at Colchester Sixth Form, said he doesn’t see violence in the High Street but added people yelling loudly is a common problem.

Noticeable - George Rust, 16, said he sees and hears a lot of shouting in the High Street, but says he is less concerned (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) He said: “The shouting isn’t that nice to hear – it is quite off-putting if you see a large group of guys shouting.

“I’m relatively comfortable but I can understand why it concerns a lot of people.”

Jane Gardner, Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said: “Working with partners, such as Colchester Council, is essential to providing safe and strong communities – local authorities are often the eyes and ears within their areas, and as such are fantastic at identifying areas that may need our help.”