Do you know where your children are and what they’re doing?

Over the past month, Boston Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) have received multiple reports from local businesses about groups of teens entering their premises and causing disruption. These incidents have resulted in staff being intimidated, family friendly environments being impacted, and even customers being disturbed at premises for over 18s.

Businesses have reported behaviour including the throwing of furniture or products, littering, fighting, shouting and swearing at staff, and being openly disrespectful towards employees and members of the public. In several cases, the youths involved have refused to leave when asked.

Further reports include underage drinking, door kicking, door-knocking, and intimidating behaviour in nearby streets.

We are aware that some of these incidents appear to be driven by social media trends, including challenges circulating on platforms such as TikTok that encourage disruptive or anti social behaviour to gain online attention.

We also recognise that many teenagers feel there isn’t much available to keep them occupied. It may help to encourage them to make use of local facilities such as skate parks, cinemas, bowling alleys, recreation grounds, swimming pools, or gyms. While some of these activities may involve a cost, it is significantly lower than the potential financial consequences of criminal damage.

NPTs are actively dealing with these incidents, and individuals who persist in these activities can expect a visit from officers. We are working to ensure that appropriate action is taken to protect both local businesses and the wider community.

We would also like to gently remind parents and guardians of the importance of knowing where their children are, who they are spending time with, and how they are behaving when out in the community.

Supporting young people to make positive choices is key in preventing further issues and keeping them safe.

We appreciate the continued support from businesses and residents, and we encourage anyone witnessing anti social behaviour to report it so we can respond effectively.

If you have any information or concerns, please reach out. There are a number of ways you can do this:

All intelligence is handled sensitively and confidentially. Together, we can continue to target anti-social behaviour and protect our communities.

Useful signposting: