Rowdy yobs making life hell for people of Westham

Police have received 72 complaints from locals about anti-social behaviour from groups of up to 50 youths at a time, in the Westham area of town since December.

The reported incidents – 46 in Knightsdale Road and 26 in Abbotsbury Road – range from criminal damage, fighting in the streets and intimidation to verbal abuse, graffiti and public urination.

But the community is now hitting back after an application by Weymouth Police to impose a Section 30 dispersal order on the area was accepted by borough councillors.

The new order gives officers the power to move on groups of two or more people behaving anti-socially, or arrest them if they fail to comply, as of Friday, April 24.

Sergeant Denise Bunce of Weymouth Police said: “It is important that this order is kept in perspective.

“The majority of young people are well-behaved and this order is not aimed at law-abiding young people who want to socialise with their friends. This is about ensuring that a minority of individuals who behave in an anti-social manner are prevented from doing so by giving police and community support officers the power to disperse unruly groups.

“We understand that these individuals can have an effect on the quality of life for local people and to that end we are acting to curb bad behaviour with a reasonable and proportionate approach.”

Westham East councillor Ian James welcomed the new order. He said: “The police do a brilliant job and turn out to incidents when people call them but their hands are pretty well tied as to what they can actually do.

“With a Section 30 they can disperse groups of two or more people who are causing a nuisance.”

Westham West councillor and PACT (People and Communities Together) chairman Gill Taylor also showed her support. She said: “I worry over this – because it looks like victimising kids – but in this case it is needed.

“You’ve got to draw the line somewhere when you start getting groups of up to 30 youths intimidating people, shouting and swearing.”

Much of the reported anti-social behaviour in Knightsdale Road happens around Weymouth Swimming Pool entrance.

The pool’s general manager, Simon Stewart, said: “We get a number of complaints from our customers about the intimidating atmosphere that can be present large groups of youths are around.

“When my colleagues have tried approaching groups they’ve often been met with a negative response and often have been abused.”

The dispersal order, which will remain active until September 23, stretches from Goldcroft Avenue in the north to Chickerell Road in the south and from the Westham roundabout to the recreation ground east to west.

RESIDENTS HAVE SUFFERED FOR YEARS

KNIGHTSDALE Road residents are at the end of their tether after suffering years of abuse and anti-social behaviour from youths.

The residents came out in support of imposing a dispersal order on the area but are dubious as to the good it could do.

Retired Weymouth and Portland Borough Council hall porter Reg Bibby, 77, pictured right, said the police were regularly called out by residents. He said: “The trouble really begins when the swimming pool’s closed on Saturdays and Sundays because the kids hang around outside. One of my neighbours called the police last weekend because it was so noisy.

“She was told the situation was being monitored but still no one from the police came down here.”

Dorset County Hospital administrator Christiane Dubois, 61, said anti-social behaviour had been rife in the area for years. She said: “This hasn’t been going on for three months or six months or a year.

“This has been going on for about six or seven years.

“I hope every day that I will be able to get to bed and to sleep by 10pm that night but it so rarely happens because of the noise.

“I hope the Section 30 works but I don’t know if it will do any good or not.”

Nursery assistant and mother-of-three Debbie Counsell, 46, said she feared for her children’s safety when they return home after dark.

She said: “I’ve been living here for seven years and there’s been anti-social behaviour going on for as long as I’ve lived here.”

Section 30 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 gives a police superintendent or higher the authority to make a defined geographical area the subject of a dispersal order, with the consent of the council.

The order gives police officers the power to disperse groups of two or more in a public place if other members of the public have been intimidated, harassed or distressed by them.

The order can remain in force for up to six months on individuals and can leave those who breach, or fail to comply to it, liable to arrest.

Section 30 breaches are punishable through the courts with a fine or up to three months’ imprisonment.

Inspector Pete Meteau of Weymouth Police said: “Clearly we have seen enough incidents of anti-social behaviour in Westham to merit a Section 30 order, particularly around Knightsdale Road and the surrounding area.

“It’s extremely important to remember that this order is only one tool in a big box of tools that we have to address anti-social behaviour, particularly associated with young people.”

WESTHAM SECTION 30 ORDER – THE DEBATE

COUNCILLORS voted in favour of imposing the Section 30 dispersal order on Westham.

Members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s management committee voted to introduce the order despite misgivings from some members over the order’s scope.

Coun Christine James said she was ‘disappointed’ that the proposed Section 30 did not cover a greater area of her ward, Westham North, arguing that areas such as Corporation Road and Goldcroft Road should be included.

Weymouth and Portland Mayor Tim Munro asked whether it would ever be worth imposing a Section 30 order on the area in the future if an initial order did not work to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Coun Jean Woodward argued that Section 30 orders did work and said many people felt intimidated about reporting anti-social behaviour to the police.

All members voted in favour of approving the police’s application, except for Coun Munro, who abstained.

Section 30 dispersal orders have proved to be controversial since they were created in 2003.

While police and community leaders often claim they are valuable in helping to reduce anti-social behaviour, critics say the legislation is little more than a ‘sticking plaster’.

The orders have been imposed up and down the country with varying degrees of success.

Section 30 orders imposed in Merseyside, from Tranmere on the Wirral to parts of St Helens, have been broadly welcomed in the community.

In Stoke-on-Trent public feedback has also been positive.