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Operation Lion Cub - tackling anti-social behaviour

Thames Valley Police operates a campaign to crack down on anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the Wokingham Local Police Area (LPA).

Operation Lion Cub has been in the area since October 2009 on Friday and Saturday nights, and is part of ‘Operation Confidence’, a Forcewide crackdown on ASB.

Lion Cub focuses on ASB hot spots as highlighted by calls to both police and Wokingham Borough Council.

PC Naomi Jolliffe, Wokingham anti-social behaviour officer, said: “Many neighbourhoods in the Wokingham Local Police Area have reported that ASB is one of their top three priorities they want police and partners to resolve.

“And, in response to this, we are adapting an operation that has been running successfully in the Bracknell Forest area.”

PC Jolliffe continued: “Volunteers are recruited to participate in the operation and act as our ‘eyes and ears’. These people are given a dedicated mobile number to call to tell us about any ASB which is occurring, and then dedicated Operation Lion Cub police officers can swiftly respond.

“Each evening that the operation is running, a briefing will be held on the street at chosen locations at 6.30pm. These locations are not put out until the preceding week - this is so that we deal with current ASB issues.

“Residents are informed of these briefings either half an hour before or afterwards by officers knocking on doors.”

About ‘Operation Lion Cub’

• Operation will run on Friday and Saturday evenings.
• Residents will be identified across the LPA who will act as the ‘eyes and ears’ for their community and call us with ASB issues that are happening at that time.
• Dedicated mobile phone number for the ‘eyes and ears’ to call. The mobile phone will be available for use on Friday and Saturday evenings and will be answered by a neighbourhood policing officer assigned to that role for the evening.
• Street briefing to be held at the start of the shift in an ASB hot spot.
• Neighbourhood specialist officers will identify their top ASB hot spot areas and submit a short patrol plan for dealing with that particular location. This ensures that there is a consistent response to the problem and that local knowledge is not lost.
• When there are no calls received, neighbourhood officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) will patrol their own neighbourhoods as usual.