Isle of Man police to step up patrols over Hop-tu-Naa weekend

Officers have reported an increase in anti-social behaviour

Police patrols will be stepped up over the Hop-tu-Naa weekend to tackle anti-social behaviour, the Isle of Man's chief constable has said.

It comes after officers received reports of pranksters knocking on doors and running away during the past week.

Russ Foster said that kind of anti-social behaviour could have a "massive impact" on people's lives.

He said officers would be visible over the weekend to reassure people and "robustly" deal with any incidents.

"I don't want to unnecessarily criminalise young people, but if they are ruining people's lives then we will deal with it," the chief constable said.

Reducing youth offending and anti-social behaviour feature in the Isle of Man Constabulary's priorities in its 2023-24 policing plan.

Mr Foster said police traditionally saw an increase in anti-social behaviour at the present time of year, and repeated acts like knocking on doors could be a "blight".

He appealed to anyone affected to contact police so that incidents could be dealt with.

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