Joint action needed to beat yobs

IF Warrington is to beat the problems of crime and anti-social behaviour, the borough council, its partner agencies and the residents will all have to play their part.
This is the view of Coun Keith Gleave, (pictured) chairman of the council’s communities and scrutiny committee and the crime and disorder reduction working group.
Anti-social behaviour takes many forms, he says. But all blight people’s lives in one way or another
In a new report to councillors, he says: “Inherently we have a very good town and population, but only with everyone engaging can we make it a truly excellent and safe town in which to live and work.”
The working group has spent a year studying the council’s own services, such as Licensing, Trading Standards, Planning and Environment and Regeneration.
In the coming year, it will look externally at other groups working in partnership with the council.
A Partnership Plan has been produced covering the period 2008-2011. But it will be review through regular assessments to deal with changing priorities
The report notes that with 15,812 recorded incident of anti-social behaviour last year, it is clearly a priority for the police and other partners. But anti-social behaviour is not always considered a crime, which means the police are not always the appropriate partner to deal with it.
A recent analysis has shown that only about three per cent of incidents are ultimately classified as crime. Enforcement by the police can create a tension in the partnership over “criminalising” young people.
Progress is being made in cutting underage drinking. A 2005 Trading Standards survey showed that 53 per cent of 15-16 year-olds claimed to drink alcohol at least once a week. By 2007, the figure had fallen to 45 per cent. But the same survey revealed that 30 per cent of this group admitted binge drinking – having five or more drinks on one occasion at least once a week.
The report recognises the growth of the “night time economy” and the rapid expansion of bars and licensed premises as an important factor.
It adds: “Warrington has existing powers and tools available to help it manage this. In order to increase its opportunity to prevent anti-social behaviour, it needs to be innovative with its developing and future strategies.
“The solution to an anti-social behaviour problem does not lie with one service or partner agency alone.”