A TAXI firm boss said he has had to fork out cash from his own pocket to pay for extra security during the weekend at a Weymouth town centre rank due to the blight of anti-social behaviour - as a new operation to keep people safe from alcohol-related crime was launched.
Ian Ferguson - managing director of five taxi firms across Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester - said his taxi firms have now teamed up with police to drive down nuisance behaviour and tackle abuse to taxi operators and drivers - specifically at the Bee Cars town centre office in Edmund Street.
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Firms including Bee Cars, Weyline Taxis, Nicky's Taxis on Portland, Streetcars Taxis, and A-Line Taxis in Dorchester are collaborating with Dorset Police to tackle anti-social behaviour across the region as part of Operation Relentless.
Mr Ferguson said: "It's a great campaign to raise awareness against ASB.
"At our Bee Cars office in Edmund Street, I regularly pay for security staff during the weekend. Most weekends it's rammed and it's difficult to find someone who's sober.
"I cannot tolerate my staff being involved in any incidents of abuse."
Operation Relentless has been introduced to target areas known by the police to be anti-social 'hotspots'.
READ MORE: Police step up Operation Relentless to tackle crime in Weymouth
"Unfortunately, staff at this Edmund Street do receive the brunt of abuse from drunks because it's so near these hotspots such as The Esplanade and Custom House Quay," said Mr Ferguson.
"We've now put signs on 25 taxis across the area to raise awareness of anti-social behaviour, and for our Edmund Street office we're now displaying a sign against that sort of unacceptable behaviour."
Chief inspector Ged Want said: "We're working with taxi firms, housing associations, drug and alcohol services, and council staff to tackle anti-social behaviour.
"Working with agencies is important during the summer period as our resources become stretched.
"This campaign has already seen morning patrols on ASB hotspots such as Custom House Quay during certain times of the week to tackle crime through early intervention.
"Weymouth, like all the major tourist locations in Dorset, is a vibrant and exciting place to visit and enjoy in the evenings. We want everyone to enjoy the space, but to also think about their actions especially when they have had too much to drink.
“ASB is a very emotive issue and has a real impact on the people it affects, particularly in how safe they feel. We have always worked with communities to help us tackle this issue and we want to make sure communities feel empowered to take the anti away from anti-social.
“We know that individuals are more likely to commit a crime when they’ve had a few drinks. A fun night out can easily turn into something unexpected and a violent offence could end in a criminal record impacting on your career and reputation. We would urge you to know when you’ve had enough to drink, plan a safe journey home, and look after each other.
“Working with a local taxi firm is a great opportunity for us to raise awareness of the issues they face, and to work with them to help us spread the message that individuals displaying intimidating, abusive, violent or rowdy behaviour will simply not be tolerated in Dorset.”
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Dorset Police crime commissioner David Sidwick said: "When I took on this role the public urged me to tackle the root cause of ASB, and we want to start by tackling hotspots across the county.
"It's behaviour that we will not tolerate, and we want to drive it down."
The signage for the campaign was produced by Swift Signs in Weymouth.
Co-owner of Swift Signs Karl Lantree said: "It's a campaign we're happy to be involved with.
"We do signs for both the taxi firms and Dorset Police. So to be involved in a project which is for both organisations is a great synergy."
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