Wantage NHPT visits ASB hotspots with the DOCO

📣 Wantage & Grove NHPT 📣

Today, your Neighbourhood Policing Team (NHPT) organised for the local Designing Out Crime Officer (DOCO) to visit a number of ASB hotspots across Wantage and Grove.

The purpose of these visits was to assess the areas and produce reports that outline what local partners can do to help reduce and prevent ongoing anti-social behaviour (ASB). These reports focus on practical, long-term solutions that make spaces safer for everyone who lives, works, and spends time there.

👷 What does a Designing Out Crime Officer do?
A DOCO looks at how the design and layout of an area can influence behaviour. By improving the environment, opportunities for crime and ASB can be reduced before problems escalate.

🔧 Examples of changes that can make a location better include:
•    Improved or repositioned lighting
•    Better natural surveillance (clear sightlines, trimming overgrown bushes)
•    Changes to access points or pathways
•    Use of defensive landscaping or fencing
•    Clearer signage and defined spaces
•    Environmental improvements that encourage positive use of the area

These small but effective changes can have a big impact, helping communities feel safer and more welcoming 💙

We’ll continue working closely with our partners to tackle ASB and support our local communities.