‘THE CITY CENTRE IS A VERY SAFE PLACE’
Council and police respond to loutish behaviour
COUNCIL chiefs say the city centre is a ‘very safe’ place for visitors - as they joined forces with police in a three day initiative to reassure shoppers.
The city Council and Staffordshire Police have responded to concerns about ‘loutish behaviour’ in Hanley.
Earlier this month The Sentinel reported that businesses were demanding police and council take action against drug users and alcoholics defecating outside their shops, racially abusing staff and snatching food from takeaway customers.
They said the number of incidents increased during the lockdown with issues centred off Crown Bank and Stafford Street in Hanley.
And they claimed the rise in loutish behaviour was driving customers away.
Now the city council and the police have reacted to the complaints by setting up a mobile unit at Crown Bank which has been there for the last three days to try and address the problems and offer support to homeless people.
Stoke-on-trent City Council leader, Councillor Abi Brown said: “We are acting on concerns raised by members of the public. We have worked with the Business Improvement District (BID) and the police to have a visible presence in the city centre over the last three days. We have engaged with businesses to understand the issues which are of concern to them.
“And we have offered support to homeless people to help them access services.
“There are colleagues here from Brighter Futures, who run the Rough Sleepers Team, and a nurse who has been assessing the health of the homeless.
“Homelessness is a big concern for me. We have managed to put 13 individuals in touch with relevant services in the last three days.
“The city centre continues to be very safe. It is helped by our extensive network of CCTV, a very active policing team and support from BID.
“We are encouraging people to return to the city centre and we can see numbers are back to the levels they were prelockdown.
“We will continue to put our focus on the city centre and make sure it continues to be a safe environment for people to come to shop and use the facilities here.”
Sergeant Phillip Ferns, deputy commander for Stoke North neighbourhood policing team, said: “We have been here for three days in response to reports from the public. It is about having a city centre that is somewhere welcoming for people to visit, shop and work. We do not want people feeling intimidated. We want to support the businesses and people working in the city centre. “The local policing team have been in the city centre for three days with services commissioned by the city council, looking at what support can
be offered to individuals.”
Sue Herman, assistant practitioner for the Homeless Health Service, was also at
Crown Bank on Wednesday. She said: “We have been checking over people. We work alongside the Rough
Sleepers Team and they point the homeless in our direction. We check their welfare and health.”