A loud crash jolts Paul Wheeler into waking up in the middle of the night.

As he peers out of his bedroom window, which overlooks the park at the back of his home in a quiet, suburban part of Kent, he sees a shadowy figure setting fire to something.

It’s a warm summer night, Labour is celebrating its landslide election win. For the first time in 14 years, there is a new government in place, which has made big promises on crime.

As the flames rage close to his garden fence, Paul, 46, starts to film the drama unfolding outside his home, while his two children sleep soundly in the next room.

“You need to ring 999 right now,” he tells his wife. “People are setting light to something right by the gate at the front of the park.”

Then there’s an explosion and smoke fills the air.

For the last four years, gangs of mainly teenagers have caused trouble in the park behind Paul’s house, terrorising him and his neighbours. He pleaded with the council to install CCTV but his request was turned down.

The next morning, the charred remains of a motorbike lie at the park entrance. The gate is damaged and the ground is covered in debris including bits of wire, nuts and bolts. The flames have turned the leaves of a large tree a rusty brown.

Paul’s experience mirrors that of thousands of other communities around Britain who say their concerns about anti-social behaviour, which includes anything from vandalism to public drunkenness and noise disturbances, aren’t being taken seriously by police and local councils.

One million incidents a year

A landmark report by the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove, details a failure by those agencies to respond to the one million incidents of anti-social behaviour recorded every year by police.

The report finds that two-thirds of people (35%) who reported anti-social behaviour said their problem had not been resolved.

The majority, more than 60%, reported it to multiple agencies.

And a staggering 70% said they received no support at all.

For people like Paul, living with anti-social behaviour has taken a heavy toll on his mental health. “It makes you fearful,” he says. “It gives us massive amounts of anxiety and stress.”

His neighbour Jackie Beamiss, 68, has also experienced feelings of despair over the disturbances in the park. Calling and emailing Kent Police, writing to her local MP and the council, are all actions she says she has taken over the past four years.

“I’m fed up with nobody listening to us or appreciating how serious it can be,” says Jackie, who has been dealing with this on top of a breast cancer diagnosis. “I feel too intimidated to even let my dog out in the back garden.”

Neighbourhood Watch coordinator Garry Turner says the message they get back from the police is they need more evidence. “You can’t get more evidence than what has been provided. And we’re still not getting the response we deserve,” he adds.

One in three experience or see anti-social behaviour

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, published in March, 35% of people have experienced or witnessed some type of anti-social behaviour.

The findings reveal deep-rooted problems in some communities, driven by economic hardship, social fragmentation and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in Wilmot Park, Paul is still upset by what he witnessed on the night of the fire and thinks the police took too long to respond. It appears to have been an attack on a gate at the park entrance that was installed by the council in 2023.

Kent Police told Sky News they are “aware of local concerns” and working with Dartford Borough Council to address these issues. They said they attended the incident with the motorbike “within hours” but haven’t caught those responsible.

In a statement, they added: “We have teams who regularly patrol the area and also have a dedicated beat officer who residents can talk to directly.”

A spokesperson for Dartford Borough Council said: “We fully understand that any anti-social behaviour (ASB) is incredibly frustrating for residents and has a negative impact on the wider community.

“In relation to Wilmot Park we will continue to respond to incidents of ASB where we have the evidence and powers to do so, and have also increased our park ranger presence in the park in recent months.”

Previous approaches have been too reactive, focusing on punishment rather than prevention, according to Baroness Newlove, whose husband Garry was kicked to death by a gang of youths in 2007, after he confronted them outside the family home in Warrington, Cheshire.

“It’s been 17 years since Garry’s life was taken. It saddens and angers me that anti-social behaviour is still being classed as low level, a misdemeanour.

“Victims are forced to jump hurdle after hurdle to get the response they deserve. They have to be taken more seriously.”

Despite numerous attempts by successive governments to address the problem, the issue has continued to plague communities.

The new government says combating anti-social behaviour is a central focus of its policy agenda. But this is not the first time that Labour has said it would focus heavily on combatting anti-social behaviour.

Read more:
Labour backs new ‘respect orders’ – but isn’t yet sure how they will work
Could laughing gas ban be pushing people to more dangerous drugs?
Councils fail to crack down on anti-social behaviour

Under Tony Blair, the party campaigned and won the 1997 election with the promise to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime”. It then introduced anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) designed to crack down on individuals causing problems in their community.

But the success of ASBOs was limited. Around half were breached and Labour failed to meet any of their targets to reduce reoffending, according to the National Audit Office.

‘Tackle individuals who cause problems’

When I asked the policing minister, Dame Diana Johnson, what the new proposed ‘respect orders’ would entail, she said her department was “working up” its plans on respect orders.

But it’s actions, not words that victims like Paul and Jackie want to see.

“We need to get much better at this joined-up approach to dealing with what’s going on in communities,” Dame Diana said. “And tackling the individuals who are causing the problems.”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

The government also says it wants to hold local authorities accountable for their role in tackling anti-social behaviour.

Councils will be required to do more to work with police forces, schools, and community organisations, and worst-performing councils could lose out on funding as a result.

But after years of persistent anti-social behaviour outside his home, Paul has a message for the new prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

“If you don’t do something about it, it’s only going to get worse.

“Police and councils are not taking responsibility. People are not experiencing consequences, and they need to know that they will be punished for what they do.

“We should not have to live in fear.”

:: If you have been affected by anti-social behaviour please contact Nick Martin directly or Sky News.

Labour has defended the concept of new ‘respect orders’ for fighting anti-social behaviour – but admitted the details are still unclear.

In its manifesto, the party said it would give powers to “ban persistent adult offenders from town centres, which will stamp out issues such as public drinking and drug use”.

The Blair government previously spearheaded ASBOs – anti-social behaviour orders – now regarded by many as a failure.

Half were breached, two-thirds were breached more than once, and Labour never reached its target on reducing re-offending. They were scrapped in 2014.

Respect orders appear to have a very similar remit to ASBOs – and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson told Sky News the process of how they will work is still being developed.

She instead restated the general ambition of the new scheme.

“[They] will be about preventing those prolific offenders who are causing anti-social behaviour in our communities up and down the land from going into areas like town centres, or other public spaces like parks,” said Dame Diana.

“There’ll be consequences for their actions,” she added. “It’s likely that will lead – if they are breached – into criminal sanctions.”

Dame Diana admitted the last Labour government didn’t get everything right on the issue, but said it “identified a problem and tried to deal with it” through more police on the streets and legislation to take people to court.

The MP for Hull North said the situation had become “a lot worse” under the Tories.

She told Sky News: “The focus that Labour had on neighbourhood policing, on providing the powers for policing, that wasn’t a priority for them for the last 14 years.”

Following criticism from the victims’ commissioner, Dame Diana said many who suffer with anti-social behaviour are still being let down by police and councils.

She said it was “depressing” that progress appeared not to have been made over the last few decades and that a more coordinated approach was vital, with better support for victims.

“I’ve had constituents say to me, ‘I’ve rung the council or I’ve rung the police, nobody comes and nothing is done’,” said Dame Diana.

“So I think it is about recognising we need to get much better at this joined-up approach to dealing with what’s going on in communities and tackling the individuals who are causing the problems to families.”

Read more
Thousands of communities say their fears aren’t being taken seriously
Councils fail to crack down on anti-social behaviour

The new government has also promised to bring 13,000 more neighbourhood police officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and special constables to the streets.

The minister denied that PCSOs are often ineffectual at combatting anti-social behaviour.

Dame Diana said their presence “walking the beat, engaging with local communities, talking to people, [is] a presence that is really welcomed”.

However, she couldn’t yet say how many of the promised 13,000 will be full-time police officers with comprehensive powers, and how many will be PCSOs.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

“I don’t know the exact figure yet,” she said. “But I obviously want to see that 13,000 on our streets as soon as possible,” said the minister.

“And it will be a mix, because we recognise that PCSOs have a very valuable role to play on the streets, in communities, as do the warranted officers as well.”

She said she had only been in the job two months and establishing the precise figures was one of her priorities.

Labour’s post-election honeymoon looks to be over as it faces pressure this week over winter fuel payments, releasing prisoners early, and the state of the NHS.

Two months after winning a historic majority, Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers have a busy week as they face pressure not just from other parties, but their own MPs.

A vote on winter fuel payments, the prime minister speaking at the TUC conference, prisoners being released early, the publication of a report into the NHS and Sir Keir’s trip to the US are all on the cards this week.

Monday will see Chancellor Rachel Reeves addressing Labour MPs at a Parliamentary Labour Party meeting, where she is expected to face concerns about removing the winter fuel payment from 10 million pensioners.

MPs will vote on Tuesday on whether to limit the winter fuel payment to those on pension credit, after the government announced its intention at the end of July.

Labour MPs will be told they must vote with the government, however several, particularly on the left of the party, have voiced their opposition to the cut.

It is understood they may abstain instead of voting against the government, after Sir Keir set a clear precedent by suspending seven MPs from Labour after they rebelled over the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap.

Sir Keir would not say if he would again suspend MPs for voting against the government, telling the BBC on Sunday: “That will be a matter for the chief whip.”

The prime minister will also address the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference on Tuesday, where he is set to be questioned about the winter fuel payment cut and workers’ rights.

Sharon Graham, head of the Unite union, told Sky News on Sunday that they want the government to “think again” and called for a wealth tax instead.

She said: “We are in crisis. The Tories left a mess. No one’s denying that. Labour is right about that, but the choices they make to clear it up are really important.

“If we said the top 50 families in Britain are worth £500 billion, why aren’t they being looked at?

“Why are you looking at pensioners who really don’t have any sort of type of money? That’s the wrong choice to make.”

Read more:
Starmer ‘determined to make tough decisions’
Sign ups for pension credit double

In a packed day for the government, Tuesday is also when the first tranche of prisoners will be released early under the Labour government as it tries to alleviate overpopulated prisons.

The Ministry of Justice admitted this week some serious offenders will be released early if they are serving a sentence for a lesser crime, having completed a sentence for a serious crime.

Reports on Saturday also claimed those serving time for common assault for being violent towards a partner would not be flagged as domestic abusers, so could be released early.

Sir Keir blamed the Conservative government for not building enough prisons, saying he was “forced into this”.

Thursday will see the publication of a report into the state of the NHS by Lord Darzi, an eminent cancer surgeon and former Labour health minister.

The report has already had some sections released in summary, with children’s health and the progression of heart and circulatory diseases heavily criticised.

Sir Keir said the report showed the NHS was “broken” as he again hit out at the Conservatives’ “unforgivable” reforms.

To end the week, the prime minister will head to Washington DC for his second meeting with President Joe Biden since becoming prime minister.

On Sunday, Sir Keir denied the US was angry at the UK for suspending some arms sale licences to Israel and said they had spoken before and after the decision.

He said discussions with Mr Biden will focus on the next few months in Ukraine and the Middle East.