NEIGHBOURHOODS across Oxford appear to be winning the battle with antisocial behaviour, the Oxford Mail can reveal.

But the message from police is ‘the war is not over yet’ New figures reveal the number of antisocial behaviour incidents has dropped city-wide by a third in the last five years.

A wide range of “low level” offending is included, from noisy neighbours to street drinking.

Back in 2007/08 there were 8,702 such incidents but as of 2011/12 the number had dropped dramatically to 5,260. The figures are divided between more than 20 neighbourhood policing areas across the city.

Antisocial behaviour incidents have fallen in every one of the areas, with one exception – Rose Hill.

Figures have risen on the estate during the last five years, from 213 reports in 07/08 to 270 last year.

According to PC Mike Ellis, Oxfordshire’s Antisocial Behaviour officer, the drop in figures city-wide could be down to a combination of factors.

He said:“A few years ago, we were seeing reports of quite a lot of fairly minor stuff. Maybe there has been a change in tolerance “But what I think we’ve definitely seen in Oxford is a reduction in the serious types of antisocial behaviour. The nasty stuff.

“For instance two or three years ago, Blackbird Leys was suffering from drugs gangs and street intimidation.

“Teams there have effectively dealt with the key players and quite a few of the people are now serving quite significant prison sentences.”

He added: “Blackbird Leys has been a real success story.

“But some areas, like Rose Hill and perhaps Barton, by their very nature they will always have pockets of difficulty.

“They’re a mix of part transient community which don’t necessarily have the community buy-in that people who have lived there longer have.”

Rose Hill resident Mark Cheneler wasn’t suprised by the increase. He said: “It’s got worse in the last two years. My work van has been broken into a couple of times and the tools inside have been stolen.”

Rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour is the most reported incident in Rose Hill, making up 156 of the 270 complaints.

Police and residents have claimed success in areas such as Blackbird Leys, which has seen such incidents drop from 670 to 361.

Blackbird Leys resident Tracey Kerry said the situation on the estate had improved.

She said: “When we first arrived there used to be old chaps – alcoholics – down here drinking on the green, and now to be honest I can’t say I’ve seen any for ages.”

The city centre has also seen a marked drop, from 1,977 five years ago to 1,276 in the last 12 months. Again, rowdiness is the main complaint, but there are also frequent reports of street drinking, begging and hoax 999 calls. Brian Lester, vice chairman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council, said: “I do believe that the incidents have gone down irrespective of whether people are reporting them or not.

“I see very little antisocial behaviour on the estate and it pleases me that street wardens did their job.

“The estate is definitely getting better.”

Pete Bonney, the chairman of Wood Farm Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, said a lot of people had noticed the change which had seen reported incidents drop by almost half.

“I think people have either moved on, been kicked out of their homes or they’re in an institution.

“We seem to be seeing a lot more police and PCSOs on the street now. Before, we would just see them after any trouble, but now it’s all the time and they get to know the troublemakers’ names.”

Mr Bonney said one of the key factors in the reduction of antisocial behaviour is a £268,000 Lottery grant four years ago to help provide more youth facilities on the estate.

He added: “We’ll never live in a perfect world and there will always be people growing up and causing trouble, but it’s a lot better than it was.”

Pc Ellis said over the next year his teams would be focusing on ‘persistent and resistant cases’.

He said: “We are as ever 100 per cent committed to work alongside communities to drive antisocial behaviour down further. Especially over the next 10 to 12 months we will be targeting areas around Oxford and Cowley which remain stubbornly difficult.”

“We will be finding ways of being creative, and thinking outside the box where traditional methods have not worked.”