ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour legislation is to get a revamp as local officers are seeing successes dealing with gangs across the town.

Next month new Home Office guidance is set to change anti-social behaviour laws to focus more on the victims of crime and speed up the process among all agencies.

The news comes as young gangs around Swindon have been moved on and large reductions in anti-social behaviour have been seen.

Inspector Martyn Sweett, of Wiltshire Police, said: “New anti-social behaviour legislation is going to be coming online in October, which is designed to make things simpler for all the agencies involved, including the police, the council and the health service.

“It is all designed to have victims at the centre of anti-social behaviour legislation.

“There will be much simpler requirements which will help to drive these things forward, and ASBOs will change names as a result.

“Anti-social behaviour for the west of Swindon is now 31 per cent down this year compared to last year, which is a significant decrease.

“My message to everyone is if you are subjected to anti-social behaviour, contact us, so we can record it on our system.”

PC Steven Yeates, the beat manager for West Swindon, said: “A more important figure for us is that since 2009 overall crime has dropped in West Swindon by 35 per cent.

“That is 624 fewer victims of crime every year.

“We are of course happy with the reduction in anti-social behaviour, but I think it is mainly because we do not have the gangs that used to be prevalent in the area.

“Every couple of years we will get a couple of new kids on the block that will be part of a new gang.

“Local officers need to get in among them as soon as possible.

“We do not want to criminalise children at all but criminals start at the bottom and work their way up.

“If you can stop that behaviour with the children you have the opportunity to break that offending.”

Sgt Penny Sprawson, of the North Swindon neighbourhood policing team, said the historic problems with gangs in the area had been minimised due to effective policing.

“They have been effectively policed over the last 12 months, and that is part of the reason they have gone quiet,” she said.

“Certain members are on bail and have curfew or electronic restrictions, so that helps.

“In terms of the fear of crime for residents there is no problem.

“We do not have a gang culture, but that is not to say that if people are aware of similar problems coming back they should not make us aware of it.”