JesmondLocal is piloting a platform where people who live in Jesmond can submit their anti-social behaviour and noise complaints.

A similar scheme – the Night Watch, operated by Newcastle City Council – was suspended in February 2015. Its demise is a bone of contention in Jesmond – an issue raised both at the Common Ground debate and in the comment sections of various JesmondLocal articles. One reader described the complaint process, in the absence of the Night Watch, as being “completely futile”.

Operation Oak, part-funded by the universities in the city, runs every Friday and Saturday night but currently there is no night noise service for weekdays.

The overall fall in reported anti-social behaviour may be attributable to the fact that fewer residents are reporting incidents, due in part to the cancellation of the Night Watch, and because some residents believe little will be done to address their complaints.

For the next month (until March 31) residents will be able to email their complaints to asb@jesmondlocal.com and JesmondLocal will collect the data, visualising the findings in the form of a “heat map”.

If you wish to report an incident of anti-social behaviour, please email asb@jesmondlocal.com inserting the name of the street where the incident took place in the subject line, and adding a short description of the incident, including date and time, in the main body of the email.

At the beginning of April JesmondLocal will present its findings to the City Council, Northumbria Police and to Newcastle and Northumbria universities with the aim of providing a clearer picture of anti-social behaviour.

Please note: this email address should NOT be used as a crime reporting service. Serious and urgent crimes need to be reported to the correct authorities on 999 in an emergency or 101 for non-emergency.