Parents to foot bill in bid to drive yobs out of town centre
PARENTS of antisocial yobs causing trouble in Accrington town centre could be made to foot the bill for a new crackdown.
Neighbourhood police have outlined plans for a ‘dispersal order’ in a bid to drive out ‘unacceptable behaviour’ by youths congregating in the centre.
Police say the new powers which will be in force from this weekend between 6pm on Friday until 8am on Sunday, and will empower them to move on youngsters.
They say breaches could lead to arrests, with parents liable for picking up the tab for prosecutions.
The tough measures have been backed by council bosses, who say something needs to be done about persistent late-night troublemakers blighting the town, although questions have been raised over whether the tactic is fair and works.
Dispersal Orders to deal with Anti-Social Behaviour can be put in place for up to 48 hours and give police the power to require anyone whose behaviour is causing a nuisance or distress to leave a designated area or face arrest.
In a statement, PC Anna Gavela explained that the area around McDonald’s and the Vue cinema has been worst affected, and it “is starting to affect trade”.
She said: “During the past few months Accrington has seen increasing problems with youths aged 11 to 16 acting in an unacceptable manner in Accrington into the early hours of the morning.
“We have spoken informally to the parents of some of the youths involved, and also sent letters to them politely requesting that they take more responsibility for their children’s conduct, however the problem has continued to escalate.
“Anyone found to be breaching the terms of a dispersal can be arrested and prosecuted. Parents of youth offenders will be held liable for any financial costs, such as court costs, arising from any prosecutions. We would urge parents to be aware of where their children are and who they are associating with, and to take action to stop them engaging in anti-social and criminal behaviour.”
She added that the police, in conjunction with the council, are issuing Community Penalty Warnings to parents of the worst-behaved youths.
Last month we revealed that Hyndburn council and police are working on ‘cleaning up the town centre’, following the announcement of an exclusion zone on prolific thieves.
Coun Clare Cleary, who chairs the Accrington Town Team, said there has been a spate of anti-social behaviour, including problems on Church Street with groups congregating outside takeaways and vandalism.
She added: “The police have taken the opinion that anti-social behaviour warrants this approach. The police are limited in their capacity to deal with it because of the number of officers we have got in Accrington.”
Coun Cleary said the measures were not heavy handed, adding: “If you get youths hanging around and not actually buying anything and crowding around the car park and causing disruption to customers then I don’t think it’s draconian at all. Parents should take responsibility for the children. It may be that the threat of the dispersal order may work.”
But Martin Hanratty, former manager of Oswaldtwistle Youth & Community Centre, said the tool had been tried elsewhere in the borough in the past, and was sceptical about their success.
He said: “Young people will say they get together because it’s safe in numbers. As a professional I understand that there are groups of young people that do create issues in the town.
“What I would say is that you shouldn’t penalise the majority for the actions of a minority. You are just going to shift it somewhere else, to the sports centre or Gatty Park or the Coppice.”
Mr Hanratty said venues like McDonald’s prove popular with young people because of the range of attractions they offer. He said: “I know that people will congregate there because it’s warm and it’s light and it’s central. It’s like a mini youth club in there, they’re only short of a pool table. But what we are actually saying is don’t hang around, please. Where else are they supposed to go?”
A spokesman for McDonald’s said: “Unfortunately the area around our restaurant, along with other businesses, has experienced some antisocial issues. We are taking this seriously and appreciate the support from the police in helping to address the situation.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police added: “This is not about pushing the problem elsewhere, it is about enforcement in the area and is part of a wider targeted plan.”