RESIDENTS unhappy about drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in their area joined forces with the police to tackle the problem.

An alleyway near the St Nicholas’ Church area of Brighton became “almost unusable at night” due to the anti-social behaviour, while other green spaces became “no-go areas”.

Becoming ever more frustrated, the neighbourhood formed a WhatsApp group to share their concerns and began reporting incidents to the police.

Led by PCSO Kevin Creasey, Sussex Police put together a community profile documenting the key issues and setting out potential solutions.

Officers began making targeted patrols, parked a police vehicle during the day for visibility, installed a CCTV camera and arranged a community meeting.

Acting Chief Inspector Andy Saville, of Brighton and Hove’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said the measures are already showing results as residents “feel safer and they have a renewed sense of community and communication”.

“Our ongoing work around St Nicholas’ shows what we can achieve when communities come together,” he said.

“Police officers and PCSOs don’t just work with communities, they are central parts of them.

“Reporting crimes and concerns is absolutely vital for us to understand what issues are impacting our communities, what areas are particularly affected and where we should be targeting our resources.

“The recently launched StreetSafe online toolkit also allows residents to input areas where they feel unsafe or uneasy, which is then collated to allow us to identify potential hotspots.

“Please report crimes or concerns to us either online via the Sussex Police website, by calling 101 or by dialling 999 in an emergency.”

Earlier this year, Sussex Police announced they hope to recruit more than 100 new officers in the next year.

Members of the community are being encouraged to consider a career in policing as part of a campaign called Change Lives, which highlights the impact police officers have in their communities, alongside the wealth of career opportunities on offer.

Sussex Police hope to add 117 officers this financial year, building on an additional 129 constables welcomed to the force between 2020 and 2021.

With opportunities to focus on a wide range of policing specialisms, a career as a police officer opens doors to roles in areas such as safeguarding, community engagement, investigations and anti-terrorism.