A Saffron Walden police officer chased down a teenage vandal spraying graffiti on a wall, saying "You've been caught by a 45-year-old - that's embarrassing."
PC Ryan McNamara, part of Essex Police's Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), caught the 17-year-old offender in the act while on patrol in Saffron Walden last week.
Following reports of antisocial behaviour in Elm Grove, PC McNamara headed to the scene and found the teenage boy spraying graffiti.
A short foot chase followed, where the teen had "little chance of escaping".
PC McNamara said: "Where there's room for it, there has to be an approach of working with young people to rehabilitate them and steer them away from a negative path, or a future of further offending.
"I hope this young man continues to engage with the help that is on offer and recognises the seriousness of his actions.
"Anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and other similar crimes are unacceptable to me personally and to the rest of your Neighbourhood Policing Team.
"I’m proud to serve the town and district I call home.
"I know people in my neighbourhood want to see us tackling incidents of anti-social behaviour and graffiti is a prime example of this.
"We don’t treat this issue as simply low-level offending. Anti-social behaviour harms perception and pride in our towns and fuels other crime."
PC McNamara works for the dedicated NPT Uttlesford, which tackles antisocial behaviour as a priority.
The team's efforts have seen a five per cent fall in the number of antisocial behaviour incidents year-on-year, and an 18 per cent decrease when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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Uttlesford NPT Inspector Phil Jackson added: "I’m pleased to see a reinforcing of neighbourhood policing in Uttlesford.
"Our priority is preventing and detecting crime impacting on our towns and also our rural communities.
"Be it through patrols or engagement, or proactive operations targeting known offenders, we’ll be tackling the issues that matter to you most."
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