PETERSFIELD is set to benefit from a scheme to increase rural policing which Inspector Steve Sargent says will help to target rowdy, abusive and anti-social behaviour.
The town has suffered from a spate of vandalism and theft recently.
On Wednesday, nine youths were appearing at Basingstoke Youth Court charged with violent disorder as a result of an attack on four young adults.
Broken shop windows, criminal damage to vehicles, and thefts from cars, homes and shops have caused a major problem in the Petersfield, Liss and Liphook area.
Insp Sargent said: "Further assistance has been given to increase the level of policing in rural areas.
"The Petersfield area has benefited by the grant of 600 hours' overtime, shared with the Whitehill area, to be used specifically for high visibility patrols, mainly on foot, in areas where there have been problems with anti-social behaviour.
"Initially, we intend to use this time to patrol village centres such as Liss and Liphook to deal with gatherings of people who are rowdy or abusive.
"We will be doing this over summer weekends in particular, but at other times, too."
Problems with nuisance behaviour has affected Herne Farm residents near the skatepark at Love Lane.
Town councillor Dr Brian Keefe, who is keen to point out that the problem is caused by people misusing the area and not the skateboarders themselves, even looked into the possibility of passing a byelaw to prevent rowdyism.
He said: "I received a number of complaints from residents concerned about the level of disturbance in that area late at night. It is a problem that is affecting the football club as well.
"They are having a constant battle over this and are having to cope with a lot of damage to their ground. Sometimes they find smashed bottles on the pitch itself.
"We looked into passing a byelaw but realised it would be a very long-winded and lengthy process."
He added: "Another thing the concerns me is the level of disturbing behaviour taking place throughout the town late at night. I have seen it when I come off the train late at night, particularly at weekends. It is a real eye-opener.
"I would certainly welcome extra police patrolling the Petersfield area. This problem must be eradicated otherwise it will simply extend.
"The extra policing for the town is very good news. Let's hope it makes a difference."
Local police will also be given extra funds to help promote new crime-prevention schemes.
Insp Sargent said: "We have also been granted a sum of money to use in the promotion of two important new crime prevention schemes: Pubwatch and Farmwatch.
"These schemes are not yet functioning, but are in the planning stage, and are, like Neighbourhood Watch, intended to be examples of communities helping themselves to defeat crime and disorder.
"We welcome the recognition that low-crime areas such as ours do still suffer from problems and from having few police resources, and we are very happy to have some new tools to tackle these problems.
"Hopefully, there will now be fewer people saying 'We never see a police officer on patrol round here', too."