Silent Crime: "Youths on off-road bikes tear around our estate and we need to report it to police"

Matt Lawton, chair of the Gleadless Valley TARA, said meetings have been held with South Yorkshire Police on the issue, but people living nearby still don’t report the issue.

He said: “It’s a fairly big anti-social behaviour issue here. It’s electric bikes, scooters and normal bikes tearing around the estates.

“It’s all the time. We see it all the time and we have tried to push people to engage and report this to the police.”

Mr Lawton said people in Gleadless Valley have “little faith that something will be done” if they were to report it, but by not doing so they risk resources being diverted to other areas where problems are being raised.

“The police need to know what’s happening in order to act,” he told The Star, “I think it’s really important we report these things.”

He also told The Star the area regularly has fireworks being set off at random points of the day - a tactic he claims to have been told is to mask ongoing drug deals in the area.

He continued: “People are frightened to report these things to the police. It’s not like back in the 60s when my dad would say if you did something wrong someone would tell you.

“People don’t report because they don’t have faith there will be any action.”

Councillor Alexi Dimond, Green Party for Gleadless Valley, said anti-social behaviour can have a “huge impact on people and communities, wellbeing and mental health”, but added common examples of the issue (such as off-road biking) often overshadow other problems.

He said: “[Anti-social behaviour] is often a symptom of wider societal problems such as deprivation, poverty and exclusion. Solutions are not straightforward and require approaches other than criminalisation, especially of young people.

“In Gleadless Valley we do have two youth clubs and football sessions delivered by Sheffield United Community Foundation all doing fantastic work, but we need more youth clubs to cover every neighbourhood, along with more infrastructure, more opportunities and accessible activities.

“There are also forms of anti-social behaviour which get far less attention, but are equally problematic and worthy of attention. These include antisocial parking - which make streets impassable to young parents, and some elderly and disabled people. Another is dangerous driving which disproportionately kills and injures young people.

“I would always encourage people to report any sort of anti-social behaviour as there may be practical solutions or interventions that can be put in place, but also so the council and other authorities are aware of issues. On a personal level, it's also good to talk about problems and not keep them to yourself.”

South Yorkshire Police response

Inspector Amy Mellor said: “Anti-social behaviour as well as the taking and dealing of drugs are incredibly damaging to our communities and we will not tolerate this kind of criminality in the Gleadless Valley area or elsewhere in South Yorkshire.

“We want all residents to feel happy and safe where they live, free from the scourge of drug-related crime and anti-social behaviour.

“Communities can help us tackle crime by reporting every incident to us so that we can best utilise our resources.

“I would also like to reassure Gleadless Valley residents that your local neighbourhood policing team takes concerns around this type of criminality seriously and we investigate every crime that is reported to us.

“We will take action where necessary to prosecute offenders and make the streets of South Yorkshire a safe place to live.

“We also work closely with the local authority to divert individuals away from drug use.

“If you witness or are a victim of a crime, you should get in touch with police either online, by calling 101, or by speaking to our neighbourhood officers.

“We regularly carry out patrols in the local community in order to maintain a visible presence, and I would urge you to speak to our officers when you see them out and about as they are there to help you and to keep you safe.

“Alternatively, we understand that some people do not want to talk to the police directly. You can stay anonymous and pass on what you know by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers. Call their UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111 or complete a simple and secure anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org

“Please remember to always call 999 if a crime is in progress or a life is at risk.”

The Star and sister titles across the country are highlighting the types of ‘silent crime’ going unreported in our communities - the issues that people suffer in silence over, where culprits area getting away with causing misery.

The aim is to present the findings to the Prime Minister to illustrate what life is like for some residents in their neighbourhoods.