Cameras used to beat Village yobs Crackdown after protests from public and business
A spike in anti-social behaviour has led to upgraded CCTV in the Village.
Traders and residents called for action to tackle an upsurge in crime and disorder, which they claimed stemmed from the South Lanarkshire Council-run Lindsay House homeless unit.
A heated meeting saw representatives from the homeless unit, police and council officials face questions from members of the public as well as traders in the area.
As a result of the meeting police patrols have been stepped up, there have been more community wardens and a boost to CCTV coverage in the area.
East Mains Community Council chair Bill Arthur welcomed the steps taken to stem the increase in anti-social behaviour.
“There has been an increased police presence in the Village since the meeting at the beginning of the summer and upgraded CCTV in and around Glebe Street, which have all helped,” he said. “I think things have calmed down.
“There is still some low-level anti-social behaviour and some folk feeling intimidated and at times an unwelcome presence in and around the Village.
“Although the community council have had some informal meetings with police, there hasn’t been a follow-up meeting with the council, officers and representatives from Lindsay House as was agreed previously. Hopefully this will be in the near future.”
East Kilbride Central North councillor Joe Fagan said: “There was undoubtedly a spike in crime and anti-social behaviour in the Village over the summer, coinciding with the new service model being introduced at Lindsay House.
“Reports have ranged from drug crime to armed robberies to seemingly constant lowlevel anti-social behaviour and loitering, which is intimidating to people using the Village.
“The council agreed a plan with its contractor to deal with the problems at Lindsay House while police patrols and community warden patrols were stepped up. I have also had discussions with the CCTV control room and the CCTV covering the Village has been upgraded.
“The situation in the Village is improving but there are clearly ongoing issues and those have to be addressed at source. The community must be safe.”
Sergeant Paul Doyle from East Kilbride police said: “We are continuing to support the residents and business owners of East Kilbride Village through increased patrols from uniformed officers and close partnership working with our colleagues from both the public and private sector.
“Over the last few months dedicated patrols within this area have increased and a number of offenders have been subject to charges.
“We will continue to have high-visibility patrols dedicated to tackle disorder. We would encourage anyone witnessing anti-social behaviour to report it via 101, Crimestoppers or 999 in an emergency.”
The situation is improving but there are clearly ongoing issues...