Anti-social behaviour is not falling as quickly as elsewhere

Rutherglen and Cambuslang is amongst worst in the county

Anti- social behaviour is dropping in Rutherglen and Cambuslang at a slower rate than the rest of South Lanarkshire.

South Lanarkshire Council’s antisocial behaviour strategy report, released last week, reveals that in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, instances of the four most common anti-social crimes dropped by 19 per cent in the last five years.

That’s compared to 40 per cent in Hamilton, 31 per cent in Clydesdale and 30 per cent in East Kilbride.

According to the latest data, the most prolific anti-social crimes in the area are public drinking, vandalism, drug possession and common assault.

Between 2009/2010, 4605 instances of anti-social crimes were recorded by police in the region – compared to 3709 in 2013/2014.

In Rutherglen and Cambuslang, anti- social crimes per 1000 population accounted for 23.3 per cent in 2009/2010 – and in 2013/2014, that shot up to 27.5 per cent.

Anti-social behaviour incidents in the two towns reported to the council’s housing and technical resources department accounted for 26.8 per cent – the second highest in South Lanarkshire, behind Hamilton. The vast majority were related to noise and loud music, nuisance/ threatening behaviour, dog issues and drugs-related matters.

In South Lanarkshire, residents’ biggest gripe is animal nuisance, with 31 per cent reporting instances of dog barking or fouling. Littering came next, followed by rowdy behaviour and drunkenness.

Incidents reported to environmental services in the local authority area took a significant rise between 2010 and 2014. Reports of dog fouling shot up by 174 per cent, complaints of noise rose by 28 per cent, and objections to litter increased by 33 per cent.

Margaret Ferrier, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, commented: “One of the keys aims from South Lanarkshire Council’s 2010- 2014 Antisocial Behaviour Strategy was ‘ to deal with problems as early as possible’; something I’m seeing more and more evidence of having not been implemented consistently.

“I’ll be seeking to work closely with South Lanarkshire Council and the police to try and improve this situation, and would encourage constituents to report all instances of anti-social behaviour to the council’s dedicated department.

“An opportunity lies in front of us to improve upon these issues, and to make local communities safer and more pleasant places to live. Doing so will not be easy, and we must all work together to achieve real progress.”

Ann Gee, Executive Director of Housing and Technical Resources, said “huge progress” had been made.

She added: “This third ASB strategy shows that, for the period for 2009/10 to 2013/14, South Lanarkshire saw the volume of anti-social behaviour crimes reported to Police Scotland fall significantly by 32 per cent, a reduction of 6313 crimes reported. The percentage of anti- social behaviour crimes reported per 1000 of the population has also fallen from 63 per cent to 42.9 per cent.

“We have a long-standing and wellestablished approach to engaging with local people through our Positive Communities programme to ensure they can influence our work and are kept informed of progress.

“The new Strategy sets out the commitment from South Lanarkshire Council, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and all other partners over the next two years to continue to tackle anti-social behaviour and its underlying causes within all of our communities.”