Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) and Strathclyde Police have helped bring about a major reduction in gang fighting in a city community.

Reports of long-standing problems with youth disorder in Drumchapel have more than halved after a successful partnership between GHA and the police tackled the issue.

Between 1 June and 31 August this year, 62 incidents regarding alleged anti-social behaviour and gang-related activity were reported to police – and the figure fell to 27 between 1 September and 19 November.

Concerns over disturbances were raised by councillors and members of the community in Drumchapel and a joint group was set up to target the young people involved.

Staff from GHA’s Neighbour Relations Team (NRT) visited 15 young people from GHA tenancies identified as being involved in anti-social behaviour and warned them their families were at risk of losing their homes.

The young people signed Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) – voluntary written agreements between the young people, GHA, the police and other agencies designed to change behaviour.

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And the hard-hitting message that their behaviour was not only affecting the community but could mean they lost their tenancies hit home – resulting in the significant reduction in incidents of gang fighting reported to police.

Other measures which contributed to the dramatic fall in gang-related activity included extra police patrols, enhanced CCTV coverage, increased information sharing between agencies, and mobile and foot patrols by Glasgow Community and Safety Services.

Mick McCabe, GHA’s Executive Director of Housing and Customer Services, said: “Close partnership working between GHA and Strathclyde Police is behind this reduction in youth disorder in Drumchapel.

“We take anti-social behaviour seriously because we know our tenants do – people are entitled to feel safe in their own homes.

“Strathclyde Police are giving us information much more quickly, which is helping us change the behaviour of young people.

“Our partnership with Strathclyde Police is a definite success, as can be seen by these results.”

Inspector Alan Gibson, from Strathclyde Police’s Communities Unit, said: “This close working partnership between ourselves and GHA demonstrates our commitment to tackling the issues which affect communities.

“I am pleased to see a reduction in this type of crime but it does not mean we will be complacent – we are fully committed to keeping our communities safe.

“This initiative has been backed by our partners and local people and I would encourage young people, their parents and residents to continue to work with the police and our partners in challenging this issue.”

(GK)