A SENIOR Gwent Police officer says the force is succeeding in driving down anti-social behaviour.

But following a report that said the force is unable to consistently identify repeat and vulnerable victims of anti-social behaviour, Chief Superintendent Paul Symes said Gwent Police are not complacent.

He said new systems had been put in place to identify repeat victims.

A Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) review published earlier this week said some victims may not be getting the extra support they need because of issues with call handling.

It added that, because there was no effective anti-social behaviour training scheme, neighbourhood police were not fully aware of the most up-to-date options to help them tackle the issue.

Between 2010/11 and 2011/12 the number of antisocial behaviour incidents fell from 54,321 to 36,882 – a reduction of 32 per cent.

“These figures show that we are succeeding in driving down the problem with our partners,” said Chf Supt Symes.

“However, we are not complacent and will continue to work hard to target those responsible for creating problems for others in our communities.”

He said since the HMIC review the force has put in place a system to help fully assess the risk of each antisocial behaviour incident reported to police.

The point of contact system can identify whether calls are from hot spot areas and whether the caller is a repeat victim or potentially vulnerable.

He said the force has also provided further problem solving training to neighbourhood policing teams, and is grateful for Welsh Government funding for a further 101 community support officers.

He added: “Every Gwent resident has the right to feel safe, and be safe, in their community and we will continue to work closely with other agencies to help improve the quality of life of our residents.”