Readers split on plans for police ‘dispersal zone’

A story in last Wednesday Observer about a new police initiative to introduce a‘dispersal zone’to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in the city centre prompted a response from our readers.

The scheme would give officers additional powers to split up gatherings of two or more people and order anyone behaving in a yobbish way to leave the area for at least 24 hours, or face arrest.

Henrietta Mochrie said:“All it’s going to do is punish homeless people and people with drug and alcohol problems who should be helped rather than forced out of the town centre.”

Jack Calder said:“Horrible idea. Lazy crime prevention strategy. How about you remove the things that keep the yobs there?”

Hannah Ferguson posted:“As a business owner it’s the same group everyday, shouting and swearing, taking drugs and drinking. Definitely don’t like walking past them. Almost certainly didn’t like finding them (engaged in lewd behaviour) on my car at Maxwell Place. It’s about time that someone has told them to break it up.”

Andrew Macdonald added:“I really don’t know what it is with Stirling. As a relative incomer from the Highlands who has lived here for 20 years it really is still a very unpleasant city centre. I was a student in Dundee for four years and never had a bit of trouble but soon as I did my postgrad in Stirling 25 years ago you got hassle as soon as you went out as a group of guys.

“Even now you can’t walk down Barnton Street without idiots shouting incomprehensively at each other across the street; it’s rough as hell. It’s maybe a bit un-PC to say that it’s possibly due to the less desirable parts of town being so close to the city centre unlike other cities in Scotland – or maybe just a‘wee town’ mentality.”