COMMUNITY leaders in Erskine have stressed further work must be done to tackle anti-social behaviour and vandalism – despite recent efforts to reduce crime.
Incidents have dipped dramatically in the town thanks to a targeted initiative aimed at making the area safer.
But community leaders have insisted there are still improvements to be made.
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The town has been the latest focus of the Building Safer Communities scheme, which is led by Police Scotland and supported by Renfrewshire Council, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Health and Social Care Partnership.
The scheme works closely with communities to carry out targeted interventions in vulnerable areas.
After work was carried out in Gallowhill and Ferguslie in Paisley, attention turned to Erskine after residents expressed concern over anti-social behaviour, littering and underage drinking.
And since officers and wardens have intervened, vandalism has dropped by almost a third compared to last year, from 184 incidents to just 130.
Meanwhile, anti-social behaviour has also reduced by nearly a third, with 395 incidents recorded this year down from 580.
In addition, there was a 50 per cent increase in the number of arrests for drug offences, which officers have said is down to an increased police presence.
Councillor Marie McGurk (left) says the results have been fantastic
Andrew Horner, secretary of Erskine Community Council, said he appreciated the extra police presence, but said problems are still persisting.
He said: “The problem with Erskine is it is a network of footpaths. It is a hot bed for crime, and has become very hard to police.
“We have a lot of problems with drinking dens. We have been speaking recently about wanting some CCTV.
“There still aren’t as many officers as we would like. The other major problem is people don’t report low level crime. If people did this, we’d get better presence.”
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Inspector Cassie Glass said: “We are delighted with the results and will continue to build on them.”
Cllr Marie McGurk, council convenor of communities, said: “The approach has shown fantastic results so far.”
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