A SECRET report identifying hotspots of crime in Petersfield has been discussed by Petersfield town council's anti-social behaviour working party. The report, by East Hampshire District Council's community safety analyst, Philip Codrai, includes two maps pinpointing incidents of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage throughout the town in the six months between February and July this year. Headed 'restricted', the report was presented to the working party by community safety manager Karen Dawes, who said she would bring a monthly update to the meeting for information and discussion. The report is just part of the work being carried out by the nine-strong team at the district council which was launched in April to "identify and deal with those who affect our quality of life". The report for Petersfield in the February to July six-month period shows that the main hub for anti-social behaviour (ASB) was the High Street, with Chapel Street and Sheep Street also showing high levels. Mr Codrai said there were 49 reports in this area. He added: "Due to its relationship with Petersfield's night-time economy, it is likely that many of the incidents are drink related. "ASB here has been an issue throughout the reporting period, with 15 in February, six in March, eight in April, seven in May, five in June, and eight in July. Thirty of these reports were made after 9pm and before 6am and the majority were public order and rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour, providing a further indication that the problem in this area is related to the night-time economy." He said that moving away from the centre of town, levels of ASB diminished and the majority of those roads with more than one incident had seen their reports restricted to a single month and many of these were on a single night, suggesting an "unusual event". Outside the "High Street hotspot", he said one area to the east appeared to be a "burgeoning problem". Particularly in June and July, incidents had occurred around Durford Road, Bramble Road, Broom Road and the area of Rival Moor Road where it connected with Thorn Close. "In total, this area had seen 18 incidents, 10 of which were during June and July." The community safety team was also concerned about "a tight grouping of reports" from Paddock Way, with 10 of the 15 incidents being reported in June and July. Mr Codrai said criminal damage incidents were highest in the areas of High Street, Chapel Street and Lavant Street where there were 12 offences, mostly in February, March and April. To the west of the town during April and May, Rushes Road saw four criminal damage incidents clustered together towards the southern end of the road. Mr Codrai said: "In total this area had 17 offences across the reporting period. Thirteen of these were in April, all of which were on the same data and reported around lunchtime, indicating a link to a single event. Remaining in the west of Petersfield, Buckingham Road and its surrounding area saw incidents between April and July." In the south of the town, Cranford Road and Grange Road were targeted, with 13 incidents of criminal damage. Mr Codrai reported: "The majority occurred in March, but there were more in April, May and June. In total, Cranford Road had four criminal damage offences in June, but three of them were on the same date." He said another "cluster of offences" was reported during the six months towards the western end of Sussex Road, adding: "These five were mainly spread across the early months of the reporting period, with one one in June." But he said that during July the Wetherdown and Mardon Way area became a target for increasing levels of criminal damage, adding: "With no reports prior to that month and consultation of the occurrence summary, the area was not subject to a freak event, so it may be a burgeoning area for concern." The public can access up-to-date information about crime and disorder in towns across Hampshire, including Petersfield, by visiting the 'Caddie' website built by the crime and disorder reduction partnerships across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
