Herald Express (Torbay, Brixham & South Hams Edition)
Public meeting as youths run wild in Brixham
POLICE numbers are so low in Brixham that the ‘fabric of the town’ is being damaged, it was claimed today.
Angry councillors have called a public meeting to discuss moped gangs, threats and anti-social behaviour after a police spokesman admitted they didn’t have enough resources to deal with them.
The port’s MP Sarah Wollaston will join senior police officers at the meeting at the Scala Hall on October 5.
Police say they welcome the chance to talk to councillors, and will give an overview of crime and policing in the town.
The showdown has been called by Brixham Town Council and the Brixham Community Partnership.
It comes after members of the public told recent council meetings that not enough was being done to protect them from gangs of moped riders who have threatened and in some cases injured people.
There were also excessive levels of noise around the harbour and town late at night and into the early hours.
A police spokesman admitted to the full council that they do not have the resources to deal with the problems and are having to prioritise the crimes that they deal with.
Councillor Ian Carr, who chairs the planning committee, said: “This is a resource problem resulting from national government policy and the only way to get attention is to escalate the complaint up through the chain of command rather than trying to deal with it locally. We need both police rep- resentatives and our MP to attend an open meeting where the community can discuss its grievances.”
Councillor David Giles added: “When the social fabric of our town starts to come apart because of lack of police numbers it is up to this council to make our feelings known in support of the public and seek urgent action.”
Inspector Howard Brugge said: “We welcome the opportunity to talk to the council. Anti-social behaviour in Bank Lane has been an issue for ever in Brixham. We have used a Section 35 Dispersal Order over the last couple of weeks, which has been really effective. We have also seized some bikes.We have been targeting the scooter gang using Section 59 warnings over nuisance vehicles.”
The meeting begins at 7pm on October 5 at the Scala Hall.