GAZETTE & HERALD: POLICE in Corsham are working in partnership with a multitude of agencies to try to combat anti-social behaviour in the town centre.

Mindless offences have more than doubled in the last month and in a bid to crack down on trouble the police are urging young people to talk to them.

The officers at Corsham are searching for a long-term solution and don't just want to move the problem from one area of the town to another.

Town centre officer PC John Barker at Corsham police said they need to know what young people want from their town.

"We rely on kids coming up to us and telling us what they want," he said.

"We don't want to be thought of as bad. We want them to tell us if they are bored because we are the ones that can do something about it."

Anti-social behaviour can be anything from vandalism, generally threatening behaviour, climbing on buildings or cannabis misuse.

A North Wiltshire anti-social behaviour partnership meeting, only the second of its kind, was held on January 12.

Local businesses, councils, agencies and the police came together to talk about how they can help themselves and each other.

"It's a big step forward because everybody dealt with things on their own before but now we are coming together," PC Barker said.

"We have to take a hard line approach at times but we are trying to help the kids. We want them to go out and have a good time without upsetting other people. Anti-social behaviour won't be tolerated."

As a short-term fix there are two community safety officers working in Corsham, patrolling the key places at key times.

"We are trying to adopt a revised approach to combating anti-social behaviour in the town and reassure the community it is still a nice place to live and visit," PC Barker said.

"If a youth commits a criminal offence they will be arrested but if they haven't we send a warning letter to their parents or guardians advising them of the problems, tell them that it won't be tolerated and they have a responsibility as much as anyone to discipline them."

If the youth is involved in further anti-social behaviour he or she is issued with a final warning letter and the police will visit them at home.

The final action is for the court to impose an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), which could mean a curfew or a restriction on where the young person is allowed to go.

"We also rely heavily on intelligence and people ringing in with information, which they can do anonymously," PC Barker said. "If they don't report things we can't adjust our approach to deal with it."

No young person in Corsham has been given an ASBO but 11 first warning letters and three final warning letters were sent to the parents of troublesome teens on Tuesday.

Police sergeant Dave Eddy and a representative from the North Wilts hire Community Safety Partnership will visit the families at home in the next week.

Sgt Eddy said: "It appears that we have a large group of youths meeting up every night who cause havoc in the town. There have been 60 offences committed since January 1 and 29 of them are criminal damage. "