Silent Crime: Police will do 'utmost' to investigate anti-social behaviour in Sussex

Chief Inspector Will Keating-Jones – district commander for Chichester and Arun – wants local residents to ‘tell us what's concerning them’ in their community.

He was speaking during a multi-agency day of action in Barnham on Monday, September 23.

It comes as Sussex World joins a Silent Crime campaign to shine a light on an epidemic of violence, theft and anti-social behaviour. We are calling for the voices of victims to be heard.

Chief Inspector Keating-Jones, who led the police operations at Barnham and Chichester, said: “Both of these operations have the aim of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, not only in the Barnham area but also in Chichester, Arun and the surrounding area.

"We're here to communicate and engage with members of the community to talk about their experiences, their perception of crime and disorder in this area, and to listen to any concerns they might have.

"People can tell us what's concerning them, tell us what we're doing well and tell us what we could be doing differently."

The chief inspector said the community are ‘asking us to provide more policing presences’.

He added: “They have asked us to investigate crimes that they report to attend if they do call us, and we are doing our utmost to comply with that request.

“We can point to a number of positive outcomes in terms of thefts, shoplifting, crime and anti-social behaviour in the Barnham area. We have issued under Operation Precinct at least 20 community resolutions for various offences.

"I hope that shows the community that we are listening, we are looking to keep children and youths out of the criminal justice system wherever we can, by offering other means of disposal, whether that be community resolutions, non-court disposals.

“If there is no other option, we will and we are not afraid to take individuals to court and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law if that is what the community wants and needs.”

The truth about how few crimes end with somebody being held to account is eye-opening. An offender was brought to justice in just 10 per cent of reported crimes in 2023.

As part of the National World campaign, we want you to tell us incidents that have happened to you, your family or your friends in your neighbourhood; how it impacted you and what justice was served – or not. Click here to fill out our survey and to share your story.