Caught short.

Five men ordered to pay over £1,600 for urinating in public.

York Magistrates have sentenced five men £1,657 for urinating in public following joint working between City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police to tackle anti-social behaviour in the city.

On Tuesday 12 March 2019, York Magistrates heard that Andrew Cannon (aged 36 of High Street Hook, Goole) was found by a police officer in the early evening, urinating in an alley leading to Yates Wine Lodge, on Saturday 15 December 2018.

Mr Cannon pleaded guilty by post and was fined £166, ordered to pay costs of £144 and a prosecution surcharge of £30.

Shear Israr (aged 21 of Kirkstone Drive, York) was sentenced last week (12 March 2019) at York Magistrates after he was discovered urinating against waste bins on Coney Street at 4am by a police officer on Friday 23 November 2018.

Mr Israr, who apologised for his actions during the incident, pleaded guilty by post and was fined £40, ordered to pay costs of £144 and a prosecution surcharge of £30. He submitted a statement of means to the court and mitigating circumstances.

York Magistrates heard on 12 March 2019, that Gary Hill (aged 26 of Cartmell Terrace, Darlington) was found by a police officer urinating against St Helen’s Church graveyard wall on Daveygate, on Wednesday 12 December 2018 at 17:10.

Mr Hill failed to attend court and was found guilty in his absence. He was fined £220, ordered to pay costs of £144 and a prosecution charge of £30.

On Tuesday 12 March 2019, York Magistrates also heard that Gregory Pringle (aged 27 of Lynwood Road, London) was discovered by a police officer urinating in an alley off Coney Street, York, on Friday 28 December 2018 at 18:00.

Mr Pringle, who expressed embarrassment for his actions during the incident, pleaded guilty by post and was fined £258, ordered to pay costs of £144 and a prosecution surcharge of £30.

Jordan Nurse (aged 26 of Cliveden Avenue, Bradford) was also sentenced by York Magistrates on 12 March 2019 after a police officer discovered Mr Nurse urinating against the window of Subway on Clifford Street on Saturday 1 December 2018 at 19:58.

Mr Nurse pleaded guilty by post to urinating in public and was fined £130, ordered to pay costs of £144 and a prosecution surcharge of £30.

A City of York Council spokesperson said: “We are grateful to our partners North Yorkshire Police and the court for supporting our enforcement action. Four of these cases took place in the early evening when families could be around the town. There’s no excuse: all licensed premises in the city must offer toilets for customers and they should be used.

“Urinating in public is indecent and unhygienic; it also puts more pressure on the city centre cleaning services with additional cost to the council.”

Nuisance neighbour’s York council tenancy ends

eviction

City of York Council has evicted a council tenant yesterday (Tuesday 6 December) for breaching the terms of his tenancy and after being successfully prosecuted for noise nuisance.

This follows a County Court Possession Order being granted to the council which stemmed from the conviction for breaching a noise abatement notice and the seizure of a CD player and speakers from the address.

The possession order and the prosecution of the breached abatement notice followed months of noise nuisance by the tenant Sean Harman (aged 37, of Bishophill Junior) who, the court heard, had been involved in other anti-social and criminal behaviour in the area.

Harman was served a noise abatement notice on 21May 2016 by council officers from the Community Safety Hub while on the weekend, late-night Noise Patrol. From a neighbouring home they witnessed ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ played so loudly it caused the floor to vibrate. The CD player used was seized from Harman’s home by officers on 24 May with support from North Yorkshire Police. On 27 July 2016, Harman was convicted in his absence at York Magistrates Court of breaching the notice and was fined a total £1,486.

The possession order allowed the council to end Harman’s council tenancy for having breached its terms by engaging in anti-social behaviour, nuisance and criminal activity.
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Fewer drunks on York City centre streets?

According to community safety officials problems with drink related crime in the city centre reduced last year.

York drunkA new report says, “alcohol-related occurrences have decreased by 3% (50 incidents) in 2015 .

ASB nuisance reports decreased by 11% (172 incidents). These reports include: begging and vagrancy, buskers, street urination, public order behaviour such as fighting or drunkenness and verbal abuse. Theft related incidents were also down”.

However, “Violence-related reports increased by 18 incidents in 2015”. Violent crime covers a wide spectrum from minor assaults, harassment and abuse that result in no physical harm to the victim through to incidents of wounding and murder

Most of the problems occur in Coney Street, Micklegate, Blake Street, Blossom Street and Clifford Street.

The highest levels of reported occurrences are during the summer months of July and August, together with December. Calls for police service are at their highest on weekends; Saturday and Sunday. This was consistent across 2014 and 2015.  Activity is highest between 1pm-6pm and midnight-4am.

In response to a small survey of City centre visitors by the Police, 52% felt that York was not family friendly on a Saturday afternoon, 50% felt that partner agencies were working well together to make York safe on Saturdays and 94% felt that seeing a police presence in the city made them feel safer.

The Police blame visitors from the North East and South Yorkshire for many of the issues.

More patrols are now operating on Fridays and Saturdays.  In addition, the Council are in the process of recruiting two full-time Licensing Enforcement Officers who will work evenings and weekends and whose duties will include visits to licensed premises to ensure they are complying with the Licensing Act 2003 and any additional licence conditions.

Unfortunately, the report makes no mention of the increased anti-social behaviour problems evident in some sub-urban areas over the last 12 months