The media are reporting that the police intend to have a major drive against anti social behaviour during the upcoming school holidays.

It will be the first push of its kind since 2009.

Stats released by the Police confirm that incidents of anti social behaviour peak in July and August (an interesting interactive map can be viewed by clicking here – covers all types of crime giving its location down to local neighbourhoods)

More local information can be found here. It details reported crimes at street level. The latest figures are for April 2015 http://www.police.uk/north-yorkshire/york-west/crime/

We hope that the local Police commanders will ensure that sub-urban areas receive a fair share of enforcement resources and that PCSOs patrols are maintained – as a minimum – at historic levels.

We remain unconvinced that the decision to centralise anti social behaviour work into a “hub” at West Offices has worked

The Councils decision to promote York as a “Party City” has also backfired with rowdy groups producing an intimidating atmosphere in some parts of the City centre even during the day (as well as the evening). That policy needs to be reviewed quickly

The Council must also ensure that its activities programmes for younger people are refreshed. The May  issue of their Shine magazine can be downloaded by clicking here

 The last Council drastically cut Youth Services while at the same time removing subsidies from local community centres. The latter decision means that centres are now dependent entirely on voluntary effort to stay open. With potential volunteers often working themselves during the day, that could mean that valuable community resources could lie unused for much of the summer.

All in all, the York Council and its partners need to rethink their approach to crime and the causes of crime.