Lancashire Anti-Social Behaviour Focus Groups 2026

Task

As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Home Office required every police force to develop and publish an Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan by April 2026, including a commitment to ongoing community engagement. Lancashire has a higher rate of police-recorded ASB than the average across England, and such, was identified as a top priority by the OPCC. Following the publication of the ASB Action Plan in June 2026, a gap was highlighted in regard to recent qualitative insight to sit alongside existing quantitative data. 

TONIC was consequently commissioned to conduct a series of focus groups to deepen understanding of public perceptions, lived experiences and community priorities in relation to ASB, and to help shape operational activity and campaigns aligned to the Action Plan. A particular focus was placed on the following themes: 

  • Community perceptions of ASB 

  • Experiences of reporting ASB 

  • Awareness of tools to tackle ASB, such as the Operation Centurion website 

  • Victim support and safeguarding 

  • ASB and perceptions of youth involvement 

  • Partnership working 

  • Solutions and future priorities 

Our Approach

This project used a qualitative design, with focus groups as the primary research method. Topic guides were developed in collaboration with Lancashire OPCC. Participants were recruited primarily through social media and other online engagements. In-person focus groups took place in August 2026 at central venues in Blackpool, Preston and Blackburn with Darwen, covering the three most prominent ASB hotspots in Lancashire and representing all three policing divisions. Participants who could not attend in person were offered a virtual one-to-one interview with a TONIC researcher in September 2026, ensuring their views were also captured. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data. 

In total, 37 participants took part, including 34 victims of ASB and/or residents living in the hotspot areas and three business owners affected by ASB.  

Outcome

TONIC produced a thematically organised report on the impact of ASB in Lancashire. The report included overarching themes relevant across the whole of Lancashire, followed by any policing division-specific findings to highlight both countywide experiences and priorities as well as any issues or perspectives that were more specific to individual areas or cohort. Based on the findings, TONIC proposed 12 recommendations to be considered by the OPCC and partners. The recommendations are intended to support the next phase of tackling ASB by building on existing strengths, addressing areas for improvement, and further enhancing outcomes for victims of ASB across Lancashire.