Wellingborough has emerged as one of the three highest-referral locations in Northamptonshire for a dedicated early intervention team tackling youth anti-social behaviour. Since its launch in January 2026, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s ASB Early Intervention Team has supported 310 children across the county, with Wellingborough, Northampton and Kettering generating the most referrals.
Targeted Intervention Officers work directly within neighbourhood police teams and seven secondary schools across the three towns, offering up to twelve weeks of one-to-one or family support for young people displaying concerning behaviour. The youngest person helped was just nine years old. Since January, causing a nuisance in the community has been the most common reason for a youth worker to step in, followed by assault and violence without injury.
The team, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK to embed specialist youth workers alongside frontline officers, was set up to take pressure off policing and provide a constructive pathway before behaviour escalates. Figures published in May 2026 showed that recorded ASB incidents across Northamptonshire rose by 19.4 per cent in the twelve months to the end of September 2025, an increase of 2,480 incidents. The approach builds on earlier work by Corby Neighbourhood Policing Team, whose Operation Alien in 2024 used hotspot patrols and outreach to tackle a local spike and earned a Force Excellence in Policing Award.
Referrals can also come from teaching staff through school safeguarding leaders in the seven partner secondary schools. The programme forms part of Danielle Stone’s Safe and Sound Young People plan, intended to reach more young people before they hit crisis point.
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