Anti-Social Behaviour in Spondon

[sparkle]

[glow=red,2,300][/glow]As many of you will be aware, we as residents of Spondon are frequently subject to harrassment and vandalism by young people in the precinct and in our streets. I found out this week that Spondon is under the protection of a 'Section 30 Dispersal Order' which means that Police have the power to remove individuals who pose a potential threat or cause distress. This means that they DO NOT have to commit a criminal act in order to be removed from the area. The only catch is - they cannot be removed if they live in Spondon. I have contacted the Police about the constant threat and lack of Police response. A spokesperson told me that although countless numbers of vandalism and abuse are occuring, not very many are reported.

My plea is for ANYONE who is a victim of criminal behaviour, however slight MUST contact the Police so that it is officially recorded. We cannot expect the Police to help us if we do not show enough concern and interest ourselves. PLEASE - for the sake of all children and elderly people in the area - can we join as a community and try to put an end to this youth threat to our safety and security?!

[hardtailbiker]

I have noticed that it has got worse lately. There was much less roaming hoards of teenagers since the Section 30 came out but slowly there seem to be more teenagers wandering in groups and much less police presence.
I took the law into my own hands earlier last year when a few idiots decided to throw a coke can against my window. I already had a broken window previously when the little *&&^^** did it before. So straight away I ran out of the house with my wife and we caught one of them, the other "hard men" legged it too quickly. The one we caught grassed his mates up straight away and I went looking for them. They were all cowards who started blaming each other - pathetic and none were actually from Spondon. There were Police in the village that night in an unmarked car and they were speaking some of the youths so I told the Police that I was after the ones they had stopped and it was lucky that they had got to them before me.
To be honest I was glad the Police had caught them before me because i would have got into trouble and not them. _ This is one of my biggest bugbears - I am not allowed to do anything to them but they can cause me and others problems and the police mainly do not bother because by the time they come out the youths have run off.
My door was "egged" the next day but I was driving by when a lot of them where going past my house and my wife noticed two lads who's mother she worked with. I told her that I was holding her sons responsible and was going to pay a visit. Her sons didn't do it BUT did threaten the ones who were responsible for it and I haven't had any trouble since. I have put up security cameras at the front and rear of my property aty the same time so this also may have helped.

I cannot see what the police can do as not all the teenagers are threatening - where can they go in Spondon apart from hanging round the streets. It is also quite soul destroying when you do report anything and nothing is done about it.

How does this spokeman you talked to know that "there is countless numbers of vandalism and abuse are occuring, not very many are reported" if they are not being reported. What they are saying here is even though they know about it they are doing nothing.

I think because the trouble in Spondon had subsided that the police are now busier in other areas.

[sparkle]

It is really comforting to know that there are other people out there of the same opinion.

The policeman I spoke to actually lives in Spondon himself so has first hand experience of these issues and admitted to having had petty crime happen to him but failing to report it also.

I have contacted the council to ask if we can have more of the 'white' street lighting like they have near the shop on Chapel Lane since this might discourage youngsters from hanging around in the jitties. I am yet to here a response about this. Perhaps others of you would like to email the council with the same request then we might achieve something? You need to go to the council's website and search for street lighting and there is a form you can fill in with your suggestion / question.

I have vocalised my issues to local councillors by post. So far I have only heard from the Conservatives, not from Labour. The Conservatives want to meet with me to discuss the issues I raised and the recommendations for improvement that I came up with. I will update when I have spoken with them.

[spondonian]

Hate to disillusion you but the dispersal order expired on 2nd January and the police did not apply to have it renewed. I guess you weren't at the police liaison meeting on 24th January.
One of the reasons cited was that they had complaints from local residents that the existence of the order depressed house prices as it made Spondon seem an unpleasant area.
Its also unlikely that you'll get a reply from a Labour city councillor for Spondon ward as we don't have any - they are all Conservative

[sparkle]

The Dispersal Order has been removed because it worked well and naturally expired - not because residents complained; Spondon is now not to be considered an area where anti-social behaviour is an issue for the Police. Many of us who live here know it still is and still feel bothered by it.

This is the key reason why we must ALL strive to report ANY incidents of crime or bad behaviour to the police so that the official statistics show an accurate reflection of what is actually happening.

If you are concerned about 'bothering' the police with minor incidents then you do not have to ask them to come out to the location. All you need to do is phone them and report it and then it is logged on their system. At least then there is a record that will be acknowledged when police evaluate the situation in Spondon. You need to call the Police Station at St Mary's Wharf as they have a non-emergency manned phone line 0845 123 33 33.

We all need to be better neighbours and develop a community spirit - if we all watched out for one another we can help to reduce crime ourselves. If you hear a noise - look out and see what it was - you may help to stop a more serious occurence from happening.

If everybody in Spondon reports EVERY incident then the local councillors and the police can justify spending more money and getting extra help to keep our village safe.

I mentioned before that we should campaign to get better street lighting. I contacted the council who admitted that several streets in Spondon did not meet European standards and therefore needed to be replaced but there is a lack of money! Perhaps if lots of others could email them to ask it might boost us up the list of priorities. Here is a link to the form:

www.derby.gov.uk/TransportStreets/RoadPathwaysMaintenance/StreetLighting/streetlights.htm

Please help me to improve our area!

[sheepyhogger]

Hi all!

New to the forum, but I have to say that the "kids" problem isn't going away, far from it.

The problem is that the younger ones are hanging around with older lads who have the souped-up cars, and charge round the village with their dump valves whistling and wheels spinning like mad.

You can tell when they're meeting the other, younger kids, as they tend to congregate in one place for the evening and not move around as much (ie; from Chapel Street to Sitwell Street and back again).

As I live directly between the two locations, I'm perfectly placed to see a great deal of what goes on too.

It sounds like there needs to be some co-ordinated effort to eradicate the issue for good, but the police are rarely on hand (as they get called into the city centre instead of being on site in Spondon) so things need to be worked out to provide them with enough evidence to sort it out!

[sparkle]

I had thought that the situation had quietened down a little recently until I looked out of my window at 11 o'clock on Friday night to see at least 20-30 teenagers (aged around 16) all messing around right outside my house!

I was so frightened that I carefully shut the curtain again before they could see me. They were shouting and swearing and sitting on my neighbours wall and step and...
they were actually on my front drive too - very scarey when your front drive is only 3 feet deep!

I had no option but to call the police to move them on - I was terrified that they would damage my property or abuse me if I said anything to them. Fortunately they had disappeared by the time the police arrived - but I re-iterate - POLICE MUST BE CALLED ABOUT ALL SCAREY SITUATIONS!!!

Why should I live in fear like that?!

What right have these kids got to violate someone else's property?

[glow=red,2,300]The real question is
- what sort of parents do these kids have?

Why don't the parents teach their children what's right and wrong?[/glow]

What sort of parents let their teenage son or daughter (there were girls in the group) hang around in the streets like this?

Keep your children in and teach them right from wrong - discipline and moral values have gone down the toilet and these people try to drag the rest of us down with them.

Teenagers should not roam the streets at night and people should not have to feel scared in their own home.

[gareth]

This is a nationwide problem and the solution is community policing and a properly funded local juvenile court and rehab. centre such as that in New York. Needless to say these solutions are too expensive nationwide. Gareth

[sheepyhogger]

The CSO's do their best. I know that at least one of the boy racers has been threatened with having his car crushed if he continues to tear the village up in his car.

I called the police on Friday night after seeing (probably) the same gang of youths, drinking in and around the Chapel Street precinct. I estimated there were around 15-20 of them at the time.

The Police know who these youths are, but have a real job on their hands nailing them down as they can cut through jitties round the village.

I understand a large proportion of them are from the are below Cambridge Street, and come up through the long jitty off South Avenue into the village.

I really think that what is needed is some co-ordinated passage of information to the Police, with incidents being thoroughly logged by as many people as possible which will make the job of the Police that much easier (and for everyone's sanity) quicker.

If anyone fancies helping out with an endeavour like this, please let me know!

[Steve (Spondon Online)]

Anyone interested/concerned about this issue is invited to attend the next Local Police Liaison Meeting in Spondon.

It's a chance to air your concerns about anti-social behaviour, graffitti, crime, parking and speeding issues and to find out what the latest plans and initiatives are from Derbyshire Police and the local neighbourhood policing team.

The next meeting is on Tuesday 12th June at 7.00pm at Asterdale School.

[sheepyhogger]

admin said:

Anyone interested/concerned about this issue is invited to attend the next Local Police Liaison Meeting in Spondon.

It's a chance to air your concerns about anti-social behaviour, graffitti, crime, parking and speeding issues and to find out what the latest plans and initiatives are from Derbyshire Police and the local neighbourhood policing team.

The next meeting is on Tuesday 12th June at 7.00pm at Asterdale School.

Aaargh!

I work late on Tuesdays! I'll have to see what I can wangle!

[mmilner]

I feel saddened when I read about antisocial behaviour in Spondon. It was always a good place to live and grow up in when I was there in the sixties, seventies and early eighties. I hope that it is quickly resolved.

[sheepyhogger]

It won't be quickly resolved, I fear. This kind of behaviour is endemic in our society and people are too frightened of the protection that the law (appears) to afford these delinquents and thugs to do anything about it.

Having said that, I hope something can be done that keeps these idiots off the streets round here.

[spondonallstar]

[glow=red,2,300]WEL MANY OF YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CAUSING THE PROBLEM?
I THINK THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD PUT MORE ACTIVITIES UP FOR YOUNG KIDS, SAVE THEM "HANGING" ROUND THE STREETS.

I AM A YOUNG PERSON BUT DO NO HANG AROUND THE AREA APART FROM NEAR MY OWN HOUSE, BUT US YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GETTING BORED WITH NOTHING TO DO. WE NEED SOME MORE PARKS OR YOUTH CLUBS TO GO TO INSTEAD OF BLAMING THE KIDS, HELP THEM MAKE USE OF THIER TIME! [/glow]

[sheepyhogger]

Nice to see some input from a "younger" person.

The question I'd put to you though is this:

What makes the young people today so different from a different generation? I was a teenager in the 80's and we had less to do than the current crop of kids, no videos, no computers, 4 channels on the telly, yet we didn't hang around in gangs of 10-30 intimidating people!

I'm not pointing the finger at you, but the vast majority of the kids who DO hang around are foul-mouthed troublemakers happy to cause mischief when the opportunity arises.

The kids who know better than to be gobby, swear at people and generally make a nuisance of themselves DON'T hang around in big groups in the first place! They find something else to do, and don't bleat about having a lack of facilities to keep them occupied.

They want everything on a plate, and some people are soft enough to give it to them. Once they have that, they just want more!