Noisy neighbours spark 67% rise in police complaints

Cash-strapped councils ‘struggling’ with spike in anti-social behaviour

Police forces across England faced a sharp increase in complaints about noisy neighbours during last year’s lockdown, with claims that years of cuts have left councils struggling to deal with antisocial behaviour.

More than half of all police forces across England saw a surge in noise nuisance complaints as the nation was stuck at home, with one force seeing the number of complaints increase fourfold over just two years.

Data released under the Freedom of Information Act found that the average rise in complaints across the forces that responded was 67%, with some forces having received thousands more complaints last year than in 2018. Similar research has suggested that construction and general “neighbourhood noise” are to blame for the rise, as the noise from traffic fell during the pandemic.

Councils are now calling for a cash injection into their environmental health teams at the forthcoming spending review to help them respond to increases in antisocial behaviour. Labour, which compiled the figures, said that police were being drawn into the disputes because cash-strapped councils were unable to cope. Local authorities have said they need £2.5bn in extra funding next financial year simply to maintain services at current levels.

Greater Manchester police appears to have reported the biggest rise in noise complaints, with the figure growing fourfold over two years. Complaints rose from 1,058 in 2018-19 to 4,396 in 2020-21. Complaints tripled over the period in Cambridgeshire constabulary and Bedfordshire police. This supports the findings of a recent academic study, which found that during the Covid lockdown, the number of noise complaints increased by 48%, compared with the same period in 2019.

“Noise nuisance and antisocial behaviour have surged but councils have been cut to the bone by the Conservatives, so it’s no wonder they’re struggling to deal with this explosion of antisocial behaviour,” said Steve Reed, the shadow communities secretary.

Nesil Caliskan, chair of the Local

Government Association’s stronger and safer communities board, said councils were doing all they could to tackle persistently disruptive behaviour, but needed resources. “Dealing with increased reporting of noise nuisance has added to the pressure on council environmental health teams that are already overstretched,” she said. “The spending review must commit to additional investment in regulatory services.”

A government spokesperson said: “We recognise the devastating impact that anti-social behaviour can have on individuals and communities. The government has allocated more than £12bn directly to councils since the start of the pandemic, with more than £6bn of this un-ringfenced, recognising that councils are best placed to deal with local issues. We’ve also given policing the biggest funding increase in a decade and are recruiting 20,000 police officers over the next three years.”