VANDALS and thugs who cause misery across Glasgow were today warned - a new force of 500 crime-busters is out to get you.
VANDALS and thugs who cause misery across Glasgow were today warned - a new force of 500 crime-busters is out to get you.
Strathclyde Police and Glasgow City Council have united to form a new company - the first of its kind in the UK - to tackle anti-social behaviour head-on.
My war on litter loutsAS well as heading up Glasgow Community and Safety Services, Phil Walker is at the forefront of the council's anti-litter blitz. For the past five weeks the £4million Clean Glasgow campaign, backed by the Evening Times, has declared war on litter louts, vandals and fly-tippers. Since the campaign began 110 people have been fined for litter-related offences, and in coming weeks an extra 20 uniformed enforcers hit the streets. Mr Walker, who has been fighting anti-social behaviour for 20 years, also has 185 clean-up staff, seven dedicated cops and 15 mobile CCTV units. He recognises the close link between "crime and grime" and believes the only way to win the fight is to get tough - and make people proud of their surroundings. I beat drum-kit family from hellTHE new company will be tackling anti-social neighbours among other problems.v Life became unbearable for Fiona when a family of five moved into a rented flat upstairs - with a full-size drum kit. The thundering noise of drums through the wooden floor above drove her to distraction and she pleaded with her neighbours to cut the racket. But her appeals fell on deaf ears and six times the 54-year-old, who lives alone, was forced to call the police.v Fiona (not her real name) said: "I felt it was intimidating to go upstairs and ask them to stop.v "One time I did, I got the door slammed in my face. "Over the New Year they had a really raucous party with the drums playing for hours in the early hours. "I felt they wanted to intimidate me. "On Saturdays and Sundays, when I was trying to relax, I would get a crescendo of drum noise during the afternoon or in the evening. "I felt violated because these people could do whatever they liked and I felt totally powerless." Fiona thought about selling her flat but the police told her about the Glasgow mediation service. "They didn't take sides but allowed both parties to express their feelings and to find a way to take things forward," she said. Fiona had meetings with the flat letting agent and with her upstairs neighbour, each time in the presence of two members of the mediation service. The end result was that Fiona and her neighbour now liaise about when the drums can be played, allowing her to be out of the house. Fiona added: "It is a lot quieter in the flat now and that's how I want to keep it. "I don't think people know enough about the mediation service, but it really is excellent." |
And the worst offenders could even be evicted from their homes in the new crackdown.
Around 500 staff from the council, police, Community Safety Partnership and CCTV company Streetwatch have come together as Glasgow Community and Safety Services (GCSS).
They admit previous "softly softly" approaches to anti-social behaviour haven't worked and are now out to ram home a zero-tolerance approach.
The new company has a £25million-a-year budget to tackle a wide range of problems, including vandalism, graffiti, noisy neighbours, dog fouling and litter.
Staff will seek out offenders and warned the worst culprits or families could even be thrown out of their homes.
Undercover officers will take to the streets to find out who's behind litter and vandalism and will confront them.
The city's network of CCTV cameras will be used to identify the thugs and vandals and bring them to justice, in a bid to make communities safer and stop residents living in fear.
The new organisation is determined to show that low-level crime will not be tolerated.
It will identify and tackle problems specific to individual areas.
Separate teams have been set up to target problems in the south east, south west, east, north and west of the city, in a bid to make them safer and cleaner.
The new company will be able to access funding previously unavailable to the individual agencies.
GCSS managing director Phil Walker said: "We will be tackling areas like youth crime and disorder - which is a big blight in many communities - vandalism, fly-tipping, graffiti, fly-posting and litter.
"We will be working with families involved in problem behaviour, tackling anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance and will be providing a mediation service for neighbours in conflict.
"We will be working in schools and providing citizenship education so we can show children, very early on, how to behave and respect their communities.
"Where we see youngsters fighting we will get their names and go to their homes.
"But we will also be providing a range of activities for young people on Friday and Saturday nights.
"They tell us they get involved in gang fights because there's nothing for them to do. We will give them something to do."
Mr Walker said the organisation had bought five mobile football pitches, which will be taken to trouble hotspots, put up for a weekend and moved round.
He added: "We will tackle those involved in criminal activity, especially anti-social behaviour, and will use Asbos to the full power.
"The council currently spends £1m a year cleaning graffiti - which goes back up as soon as it's cleaned off.
"We now photograph the tags, put them on a database and have a team of people who will investigate and find out who's responsible. We will track them down.
"The company is jointly owned by the police and the council so we have a whole range of binding agreements, a degree of flexibility in our approach that perhaps the council does not enjoy and are able to access funds not available to local authorities."
Mr Walker is convinced neighbourhoods will soon begin to see big improvements.
He added: "We've only been in operation for a couple of months and people tell us they are already starting to see a difference.
"They say there is less graffiti and they are aware of high-visibility teams of community safety officers and mobile CCTV vans."
City council deputy leader Jim Coleman said: "The approach to anti-social behaviour across the city has been fragmented until now and has never really hit the mark.
"Now we are going on the offensive.
"Our activities will be intelligence-based and police officers will be providing intelligence of anti-social behaviour, which will be acted on.
"Because our actions are intelligence-led, we will be targeting offenders for the first time. We're out to get them.
"We are in contact with the housing associations and they will take action as and when required.
"It is possible the worst offenders could lose their homes."
Police, council and other staff working for the new company will concentrate solely on anti-social behaviour issues and will not be diverted to other duties.
Superintendent Alick Irvine, who works for the new company, said: "It pulls together all the necessary services and will make a real impact on anti-social behaviour and quality of life in local communities.
"We will be able to mobilise services much more quickly and efficiently and will make a difference to people's lives."
