Police claim crime fall from town crackdown

Police have said a campaign to "reclaim and rebuild" a town has delivered a fall in crime.

The Not in Our Town initiative has been targeting organised criminal gangs in Gosport, Hampshire, since April 2024.

Recorded crime in the town fell by 2.6% in the year to April 2025 compared to the previous 12-month period, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said.

The force was unable to give comparable figures for other areas.

Gosport's data included a 63% drop in anti-social behaviour and a 52% reduction in robberies, police said.

Serious violence, violence with injury and burglaries also fell, according to the force.

Hampshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said the town had been "blighted" for years with knife crime and drug dealing in the high street and around schools.

Ch Insp Marcus Kennedy added: "These were organised crime networks coming down from Liverpool, moving their drugs through Hampshire and into Gosport."

Youth charity Motiv8, one of the project partners, said two drugs gangs were initially dismantled.

The next phase involved "suspending benefits and issuing housing notices to prevent individuals from re-establishing control", it said.

A new gang began to emerge in January, but was swiftly disrupted, according to the charity.

Police said drugs raids were carried out throughout the year, with 112 people being arrested.

A "day of action" on 14 April 2025 also included searches of boats in Clarence Marina, the force added.

Drugs rehabilitation was offered to 15 people who were responsible for more than 250 crimes in 2023 and 2024, Ms Jones said.

School visits and knife crime sessions were also held in an attempt to protect young people.

Gosport Borough Council, another operation partner, said it had secured funding for security guards to deter begging in the town centre.

Council leader Peter Chegwyn said: "It's much better now. The whole atmosphere is improving."

The Not in My Town campaign has entered a final phase that focusses on addressing the root causes of crime, police said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary as a whole recorded a 4% drop in crime, not including fraud, in the year to December, according to the Office for National Statistics.

A separate measure - the Crime Survey for England and Wales - recorded a 14% rise in national crime, including fraud, over that period.

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