The inspector leading work to tackle anti-social behaviour in Beeston says "finger wagging" will not solve the problem. Inspector Mike Ebbins says that despite incidents including verbal abuse from children as young as nine, he has not met anyone in Beeston who wants to see people prosecuted.
Inspector Ebbins says that building a "rapport" with the young people involved is more important in bringing down the number of incidents. Beeston's anti-social behaviour problem has been the focus of Operation Potassium, led by Nottinghamshire Police and Broxtowe Borough Council.
The main element of the operation has been specially funded overtime shifts by officers who conduct patrols in the Beeston and Chilwell area. Given that the number of incidents has now dropped by around a third from the peak last August, the last dedicated Operation Potassium patrol took place on January 26.
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Police now say that they are moving to the next phase of the operation, dubbed 'Potassium Plus'. With funding from the council, a community space has been secured in Broxtowe which will offer a range of activities to the young people who have been dealt with by police.
The aim of this is to "divert" them away from the types of behaviour they have been engaging in. Insp Ebbins said: "We are not going to be able to police our way out of this problem.
"It's always difficult to have a good relationship with these young people when the starting point is that you're telling them off. But from the regular interactions we have had, we have been able to open up and we have had that rapport.
"We're hopeful with the provisions that we are going to bring in that we can build bridges with the younger groups, through positive work rather than finger wagging. The community want this resolution, the community who are reporting incidents see the young age of these people and want them to go through a positive diversionary scheme.
"I haven't spoken to anyone in the community who wants these people to go through the criminal prosecution route. They certainly want action, they want the issue moved away from their doorstep and they want to eradicate anti-social behaviour in the Broxtowe area. But fundamentally, they want positive change for these young people."
The community space has just been secured and the next phase of Operation Potassium will be running on a trial basis until March. Police then say that they want to secure more funding to run it for longer.
Trained youth workers from a charity organisation will take on the running of the centre. Insp Ebbins said that when speaking to young people on the street, they simply wanted "a warm space with activities which interest them".
He added: "I've got a vested interest in the success of this because this is my area and I need to make sure that it is the right service. I don't want it to be the wrong service so that the kids get bored and the issues start up again.
"There will be the next group who come through that don't fit into what is currently available. The challenge is to find provisions which will be able to provide a diversion long-term."
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