West Sussex village crime: 'Nine people will now be dealt with out-of-court'

Further measures have been put in place to tackle anti-social behaviour in Barnham, according to Sussex Police.

Operation Precinct was launched in February, which is a scheme to respond to a rise in youth crime and anti-social behaviour in the Barnham and Yapton areas.

The initiative brought together partners including British Transport Police, Southern Rail, local authorities, schools, and businesses such as Tesco and Co-op.

A police spokesperson said: “Since its launch, 14 arrests have been made under Op Precinct, and a further seven young people have been interviewed by appointment.

"A total of three people have been charged and nine people will now be dealt with via out-of-court disposals managed by the Youth Offending Team.

"Following a public meeting which was held on April 4 at Barnham Community Hall to understand and discuss the concerns facing the local community, a number of extra measures are set to be put in place to deter further crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

“An increase in patrols in Barnham and Yapton will be carried out, working with the British Transport Police, to ensure a heightened police presence is seen by residents.”

The police will also be working closely with Arun District Council and the Safer Arun Partnership to ‘provide additional security officer patrols’ to ‘disrupt and deter crime’.

An engagement van can also be expected to visit Barnham Road and Yapton Village Hall.

Chief Inspector Will Keating-Jones said: “Residents and business owners are at the heart of the Barnham community and so it's important we hear their views. The meeting was constructive and we were able to discuss the huge amount of work which has already taken place to tackle the issues which concern residents during their day-to-day lives.

“We listened to residents’ feedback and explained what Sussex Police, and our partners, plan to do to make sure everyone in Barnham feels safe and is safe.”

“Our team has also worked extremely hard to issue four Community Protection Warnings (CPWs), which gives the offender a set of conditions they must adhere to. If they breach the warning, it can escalate to a Community Protection Notice obtained through the courts.

“Sussex Police will continue to identify and robustly deal with those committing crimes in the area. We will ensure that the hard work continues.”

Members of the public are also urged to report a crime to police ‘at the earliest opportunity’ – dial 999 if it’s an emergency or if the crime is taking place at that time, otherwise report online or call 101.