Police on the Isle of Wight have urged pensioners not to take on teenagers themselves as a village rages at anti-social behaviour. A group of around 100 elder locals are furious at what they allege is a group of 12 teenagers causing chaos in the quiet village of Freshwater.
Police are dealing with 18 cases of anti-social behaviour and have also been informed of a burglary.
With locals feeling let down by local authorities, police have now urged them not to form vigilante groups and tackle the problem themselves.
Inspector Matt Gooding, of Hampshire Police, told the pensioners at a meeting: “Vigilante groups make the work of the police more difficult.
“It may feel empowering for people in the area to take matters into their own hands.
“But there is a fine line between the right to speak out and harassment. The majority of young people are not a problem.
“There have been 18 incidents of anti-social behaviour.
“These include knocking on a door and running away. There has been an incident of burglary, but this was in an empty property.
“We have taken robust actions against suspects. Two have been arrested with one charged and the other referred to the youth offender service.
“Those concerned are subject to Community Behaviour orders. It’s not true that we are under-resourced.”
He was responding directly to a number of locals who have complained about the situation not being dealt with.
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