Youth related anti-social behaviour in Morpeth bus station and town centre

We have worked together with community safety officers and local schools to effectively target those involved in ASB, with both enforcement and engagement. A diversion programme, Beyond the Ball, is designed to dissuade young people from involvement in anti-social bejaviour.. We have also worked with Asset Watch, who provide the town centre CCTV systems, to gather evidence of any reported issues and identify those involved.
As a result, there has been a 63% reduction in reports made to the police relating to youth involved ASB since Jan 2025.

Retail crime

Following a rise in shoplifting offences in Morpeth, we have made several arrests of offenders and issued community protection warnings. The introduction of Shopwatch radio handsets has enabled retailers to have direct contact with officers, allowing a quicker response. As well as more visible foot patrols, we've used a new tool to help us more efficiently obtain CCTV footage for investigations. The new technology has led to the identification of offenders and provided us with further evidence. There has been a 48% reduction in shoplifting reports since Jan 2025 vs previous year.

Night-time economy anti-social behaviour

Footfall within local night-time economy has increased and as a result we have seen a rise in alcohol related anti-social behaviour.
To address the issues, neighbourhood team shift patterns have been changed to a later finish time to give an increased presence during peak visitor hours.

We've been carrying out visits to local bars, pubs and clubs, to ensure licence holders are acting responsibly and in line with their licence.

We take enforcement action against offenders through both criminal and civil approaches, banning individuals causing issues through the Pubwatch scheme.

We have worked with partners to improve the town centre CCTV, giving us better quality evidence and improved identification rate of offenders.
The above has led to a 26% reduction in reported incidents along with a 7% decrease in violent crime.