Halloween set to cause 17% uptick in anti social behaviour

AN analysis of historic crime statistics from over 50's property specialists, Quickmove Properties, reveals that police forces in England and Wales can expect a 17% uptick in antisocial behaviour this Halloween.

Quickmove Properties has analysed crime statistics in England and Wales since 2013 to see how Halloween, and the mischief often related to it, affects the rate of reported antisocial behaviour incidents in October compared to the monthly average for the rest of year. Examples of antisocial behaviour that are commonly associated with Halloween range from rowdy, inconsiderate neighbours, through to vandalism or graffiti, underage drinking, and unsafe use of fireworks.

The data shows that last year, 2022, reports of antisocial behaviour were 17% higher in October compared to the monthly average for the rest of the year, significant causes of which are likely to be Halloween and longer hours of darkness due to the clocks going back.

In fact, October has seen higher rates of antisocial behaviour in 6of the past 10 years, including:- a 6.8% uptick in 2015 and a 9.7% rise in 2016.

When analysing England and Wales on a local level, it was found that half of all Police Forces reported higher levels of antisocial behaviour in October 2022 versus the monthly average for the rest of the year.

The worst-hit force was London's Metropolitan Police Service with 36,524 reports of antisocial behaviour in the month of October compared to a monthly average of 21,235 for the rest of the year. This is an increase of 72%.

City of London police saw an increase of 55.9%, and Merseyside Police saw a rise of 18.1%.

Other police forces to report an October increase include:- Northumberland (14.8%), Northern Ireland (10.3%), Cleveland (10.1%), and Wiltshire (8.6%).

Among the forces to record an October drop in antisocial behaviour in 2022 are Nottinghamshire Police (-82.6%), Dyfed-Powys (-19.6%), Northamptonshire (-15.8%), and North Yorkshire (-13.1%).

Sales Director at Quickmove Properties, Mark O'Dwyer, commented:- "Halloween can be a scary time for older homeowners, in particular; no pun intended. What seems like innocent hijinks to 1 person can be really intimidating to another. This can be especially true for those older homeowners who might live alone and therefore feel more vulnerable in the face of antisocial behaviour such as door knocking or loitering in the street. We find this is 1 reason that modern residential park home developments appeal to so many people. They provide a safe, often gated community for like minded people of a similar age and sensibility and so there simply isn't any heightened level of Halloween inspired anti social behaviour. What's more, with such a close knit community, there's always a friendly face nearby if needed as neighbours look out for each other and their property."

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Thousands Of Retired Staff Return To The NHS

MORE than a 3rd of nurses who retired 2 years ago had returned to practice 12 months later, according to new NHS England figures.

Analysis of NHS workforce data found that:- 4,600 of 10,300 (44%) nursing staff that retired between:- July 2021 and June 2022 had rejoined the health service within 12 months; 4 percentage points more than the previous year.

The increase comes after an extension to changes to the pension rules 1st introduced in 2020. This means that staff with the reserved right to retire at age 55, such as:- nurses, midwives, physiotherapists and health visitors, can retire and return to the NHS without it impacting their pension; even if they work full time.

Since 1 April 2023, they can also rejoin the pension scheme and build further pension if they wish.

It also comes after NHS England made it mandatory for NHS organisations to offer staff flexible working options for every role.

Dr Navina Evans, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer for NHS England, said:- "The NHS is hugely grateful to staff who have given years of service to care and treat patients and we recognise their skills and experience as being massively beneficial to the healthcare service. However, we understand that as people approach the end of their careers, they want to enjoy a higher degree of flexibility in their working life. The retire and return arrangements help the NHS to retain highly experienced staff for longer, which supports colleagues and patients and also helps the NHS realise the ambitions laid out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan."

Across the wider NHS the retire and return rate was 37% over the last year, with:- 12,800 out of 34,500 members of staff who retired in the 12 months up to June 2022 returning to work within the following 12 months.

Staff who retire and return to practice tend to do so on reduced hours, with nurses reducing their hours by roughly a 3rd, compared to staff overall reducing their hours by a fifth on returning to practice.

Those aged between:- 55 and 59 are more likely to retire and return than those aged over 60. 48% of all NHS staff, and 56.3$% of nurses, who retired between:- 55 and 59 later returned to work.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published earlier this year said that changes to the pension scheme to allow more staff to return to work after retirement, alongside improved flexible working options and better opportunities for career development could mean that up to 130,000 staff stay working in the NHS longer over the next 15 years.

Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England said:- "Our NHS nurses and healthcare staff work tirelessly to care for patients each and every day and it is fantastic thousands are returning to join their former colleagues. To support staff to work in the health service for longer the NHS is offering more flexible working options than ever before, while new rules mean you can earn a salary while still taking your NHS pension, so I would encourage any retired NHS staff to consider coming back, there has never been a better time to do so."

Since 1 October 2023, a new:- 'partial retirement' option has been available to staff as an alternative to full retirement. Subject to a reduction in pensionable pay, staff can now draw down some or all their pension whilst continuing to work and build up further pension.

Will Quince, Health Minister, said:- "Our hardworking NHS staff benefit from 1 of the most generous pension schemes in the UK. These figures are testament to the changes the Government has made to make the scheme more flexible for staff later in their careers; meaning more can choose to continue treating patients and helping to tackle the backlogs, 1 of the Government's top 5 priorities."

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