York Police spread the word about illegal motorcycles as action to target nuisance riders brings “significant results”

Officers at North Yorkshire Police will be working with schools, colleges, motorcycle dealers and instructors to cut down on the number of illegal and nuisance motorbike riders on our roads.

They are trying to reach younger riders to educate them about how to stay safe and legal – and warn them of the consequences if they break the law.

It’s part of Operation Confiscate, which was launched in response to residents’ complaints about antisocial motorcycle riders in York.

Residents are urged to help police crack down on nuisance riders by reporting offences on 101 or by emailing snayorknorth@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

If possible, please take details of the registration, make or model, colour or a description of the rider or the helmet they are wearing. Information will be passed on to North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group so offenders can be tracked down and dealt with.

Police Community Support Officers will be visiting the locations to hand out information and talk to riders and other members of the community about how they can help police tackle the issue.

Officers are also carrying out regular enforcement patrols with off-road police motorbikes. They are using information supplied by the public and are targeting hotspots. These currently include the suburbs of Clifton, Fulford and Heworth.

In the last month alone, a number of motorbikes and scooters have been stopped by police in York, including:

  • A motorbike that was seized in Huntington for being uninsured and ridden while it was declared off the road (SORN)
  • A scooter rider who had no tax or MOT. The rider was reported and the scooter has been seized
  • A motorbike rider who has been given a Section 59 warning notice for antisocial riding
  • A scooter rider who has been reported for having no MOT and incorrectly displaying a front L plate
  • A scooter rider who is due to be interviewed on suspicion of having no licence or insurance after a police stop in Clifton

York North PCSO Harl Pattison, who is working on Operation Confiscate, said: “As the operation continues,  we’re seeing some significant results. These results are making a real difference to residents’ quality of life and making their communities safer.

“But we want to prevent illegal riding happening in the first place. So we’re doing more and more work to reach young riders and influence the way they ride.

“By working with other people in the community, we’re spreading the word that riding antisocially or without tax, insurance, an MOT or a  licence is foolish and it won’t be tolerated.

“We’re enforcing the law too, and in the last month alone we’ve been sending riders to court, handing out official warnings or seizing motorcycles. We’re showing riders that the stakes are high, so chancing it could cost them dearly.”

Police are being supported by partner agencies such as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency who can carry out roadside checks and make sure the vehicles are roadworthy. If not, prohibitions notices to remove the vehicle from the road can be issued.

North Yorkshire Police is reminding riders to check the following before taking to the road:
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New Chief Constable for York and North Yorkshire

Some good news from the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Lisa Winward named as preferred candidate for Chief Constable

Elected Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire Julia Mulligan has today announced that Lisa Winward is to be put forward as her preferred candidate to become Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police.

Lisa Winward, currently North Yorkshire’s Temporary Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable since February 2017, was chosen following a rigorous two-day interview process, including taking questions from members of the public and partners in a Question Time event and panel interviews, on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 July.

The Police and Crime Commissioner will now put her preferred candidate to the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, who have a statutory duty to hold a confirmation hearing to consider Temporary Chief Constable Winward’s suitability for the role. This will take place on Wednesday 15 August.

Campaign launched to reduce anti social behaviour

Cllr Sheena Jackson points out a damaged cycle barrier

Problems with anti social behaviour usually increase at this time of year but recently problems have reached new levels.

A cycle barrier at the entrance to the Thanet Road sports are was knocked over last week. Although there were signs of corrosion on part of the barrier, the responsibility has been placed at the feet of vandals. A temporary barrier is being installed this week,.

Elsewhere in the Foxwood area, noisy mopeds and cars trying to do hand break turns on amenity areas have been reported. We would expect that the police – who didn’t attend a residents association meeting yesterday – will be able to deal quickly with vehicle related issues like these.

Anyone spotting anti social behaviour or potential vehicle offences should report them to 101.

NB. The number of Police officers in the area has reduced over recent years. Crime levels are creeping up.

Call for increase in neighbourhood police profile in York

The next York Council meeting will discuss four motions put forward by the political groups represented on the authority.

  • Liberal Democrat Ashley Mason is asking for more funding for neighbourhood policing. He will get a lot of support for his proposal with PCSO patrols now distinctly thin on the ground in much of the City. 41% of respondents to a recent survey thought that policing in the City was “poor”.

Many highlighted issues with drugs and moped gangs as increasing areas of concern.

The York Council has no direct powers over policing policy (that rests with the Harrogate based Police and Crime Commissioner) but it can be more active in using its powers of scrutiny.

The motion also opposes any reduction in Fire cover. The service has recently been taken over by the PCC.

  • A Labour Councillor wants to close the outbound traffic lane which currently runs under Micklegate Bar. The actual amount of traffic using this route is already regulated with “green” periods at the adjacent traffic lights already relatively short. However, the main criticism of this proposal is that it is being made without any consultation with local businesses or residents. Local road junctions are already congested at peak times so the consequences could be significant. The plan comes from the Lendal bridge closure school of transport planning. Proposals like these need to be considered as part of the next update to the Local Transport Plan. (NB. The Council video, outlining plans to improve the railway station frontage, portray an, almost miraculously, traffic free inner ring road in this part of the City!)
  • The Conservative Councillors have gone to the trouble of restating that they are in favour of free green bin emptying. Many residents would settle, currently, for just having their present green bin emptied.
  • ……& finally, the Green party has come out against, what they term as, “food poverty”. It will probably be difficult to find anyone who thinks hunger is a good thing. The Greens disingenuously suggest that Council officials should write a report saying how the issue can be resolved. Sadly, this is another problem where most of the levers are well outside the control of a local Council.

Council meetings these days are sterile and predictable affairs with all sides posturing and the real issues, that affect street level public service standards, rarely being highlighted.

This can party be traced back to a decision by the last Council which withdrew the option for Councillors to submit written questions (and get a written response).

A limited amount of time is reserved for verbal questions, but these rarely uncover any new facts.

Answers to verbal questions are not recorded in the meeting minutes. The minutes are, in any event, published several weeks – or months – later.

By then the issue has usually moved on.

Crime survey started

click to go to survey

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has started an “on line” survey which she says is aimed at getting residents views about neighbourhood policing.

In some ways this is well timed as the summer period invariably brings a peak in some forms of crime – notably anti-social behaviour.

We have already seen an escalation in complaints about the “mad moped” brigade while environmental crime (e.g. dumping, dog fouling) are still at high levels. However, they are yet to reach the heights seen last year when the police presence was very low.

Since then there has been a gradual and welcome improvement with more patrols by PCSOs evident.

The survey begins by asking about satisfaction with a range of public services. There will be a suspicion that this will be to allow the PCC to say that the quality of policing is more highly rated than, say, road maintenance. The real comparison is with historical performance.

The effectiveness of policing  has never been the same in sub-urban parts of York since anti-social behaviour activities were centralised into a “hub” at West Offices. Almost overnight communication channels between residents and named police officers were broken, losing a valuable channel of information about the causes of crime and those responsible.  The boundaries of the neighbourhood policing units seem to have been in a constant state of flux.

Lists of local officers need to be regularly updated and included on public noticeboards, social media pages etc.

The local activities web page for York South famously is only updated a couple of times a year, although there are many more things going on than are publicised.

The survey fails to probe whether residents have confidence in the criminal justice system in its entirety. Many reported crimes go undetected while courts seem to lack effective powers to deter repeat offences.

The police seem reluctant to publish performance stats at a neighbourhood level. Information is available at https://www.police.uk/ but accessing it is awkward. Residents Associations no longer routinely receive information. Many Neighbourhood Watch organisations have folded in recent years.

We hope that the results of the survey will be published at neighbourhood level.

Police seek help following Cornlands Road assault

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses and information about an assault that occurred on Cornlands Road in York.

It happened at 10.30am on Thursday 12 April 2018  when the victim, a 32-year-old local woman, was stood at the bus stop.

She was approached by a man on a bicycle who told her to give him a cigarette. He grabbed her by the right forearm and told her to give him her mobile phone.

The First York number 4 bus then arrived and the victim got on. She was uninjured and did not lose any of her property during the incident.

At this time no arrests have been made.

We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

In particular, we are appealing for information about the identity of the male suspect.

He is described as white, approximately 5ft 6in tall, dark-brown shaggy hair with a bit of a fringe which didn’t reach his eyebrows, skinny build, a gaunt face which shows his cheekbones, dark eyebrows and brown staining on his teeth as if he was a heavy smoker.

He was wearing a white Superdry jacket with blue jeans which had a rip in them, which the victim thinks was on the left knee, and  brown leather-style shoes. He spoke with a local York accent and he was riding a black battered mountain bike.

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Andrew Copeland. You can also email Andrew.Copeland@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12180061935.

Contact details:
Leon Dryden – #0090
Andrew.Copeland@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk | 30090
Incident reference:
12180061935

CCTV appeal following theft of clothing from Peacocks in Front Street

Police have released CCTV images of two women they would like to speak to regarding the theft of items from Peacocks clothing store on Front Street in Acomb.

At around 12.05pm on Saturday 10 March 2018 the two women pictured entered the store, one woman was carrying a blue rucksack.

 

A number of items of children and adult clothing were removed from the store, without any offer of payment being made.

Anyone who recognises either of the women pictured is asked to contact PC Emily Clark on 101 or email Emily.Clark@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Please quote reference 12180041400.

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800555111

Appeal for witnesses following an assault in Acomb Front Street

11-15 Front Street

Officers are appealing for witnesses and information following an assault in Acomb which happened in the early hours of yesterday, Friday 29 December 2017.

Police received reports of an altercation involving a number of men and women outside Boyes on Front Street Acomb, shortly before 12.40am.

Upon arrival, officers found five men and four women to be involved in the altercation and an assault had also taken place.

A 23 year old man has sustained injuries after being punched and kicked, and a 33 year old man has sustained an injury to his head and hand.

Two men from York, aged 23 and 33, were arrested in connection with the incident. Both men have been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information is asked to contact police. Dial 101, press 2 and ask to speak to York Investigation Hub.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Please quote reference number 12170231267 when passing on any information.

Crime meeting hears residents concerns

Considering the date and location, last night’s meeting to consider policing standards in York attracted a good turnout.

There was little more to report on delays in answering 101 calls although the Police were able to say that on average all non-emergency calls were answered within 90 seconds. Residents were told that a standard 15p (flat rate) fee applied to all 101 calls. There has been a big increase in the numbers of people using the service.

Many residents from the Foxwood and Woodthorpe areas attended the meeting and complained about ongoing anti-social behaviour problems.  A sharp increase in criminal damage incidents had been noted earlier in the year and figures produced for the Westfield Ward (left) showed a steady monthly increase in reports up to the end of October.

The Police explained that they had transferred PCSOs staff into permanent (City Centre) Police officer posts earlier in the year. Many of these had come from sub-urban areas. This might explain why communication links between the Police and Residents Associations stalled in January 2017, and are only now being reinstated.

More recently an increase in police patrols – and the use of social media including twitter (https://twitter.com/NPTYorkSouth) – had been noted. This included a high-profile attempt to take some of the “scooter gangs” off local roads.

Crime distribution in the Westfield ward in October 2017

The performance and transparency of the Safer York partnership was criticised. The Councils web site provides access to the minutes of the organisations last meeting which apparently took place in December 2016 (click). Those attending the public meeting were assured that another meeting had taken place since, although the claimed two monthly frequency was not being achieved (click).

In any event, the Safer York web site is over 2 years out of date and includes a message, urging visitors to help flood victims, prominent on the “what’s on” page!! (https://www.saferyorkpartnership.co.uk/latest-news/)

Nor is the North Yorkshire Police web site much more up to date.  In the neighbourhood’s section they assure residents that the last “event” – property marking – took place last March. There are no events planned for 2018. (click)

Plans to reinvigorate the “Neighbourhood Watch” scheme were announced by Cllr Andrew Waller while most attendees were appreciative of the trouble taken by Cllr Ashley Mason to organise the meeting. Senior police officers present were able to reassure residents that a recovery plan was in place and that the expectations were that policing standards next summer would be higher.

For their part, residents wanted to see more proactive policing with the emphasis being on preventing crime rather than reacting to incidents that had already taken place.

This would mean a sustained improvement in all communication channels and the likely reversal of the trend to centralise resources into the City centre generally and West Offices in particular.