Further investment to tackle town centre anti-social behaviour

Torbay Council be investing £300,000 into Operation Town Centres, their plan to make the Bay’s town centres safer and more welcoming by tackling anti-social behaviour.

The money, along with the £300,000 already committed, will build on the ongoing work that began with the introduction of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) last May and a focus on combatting environmental crime.

Funding will be used to enhance CCTV operations, bring forward a new town centres manager to work in all three towns and employ an ASB lead responsible for delivering ASB-related initiatives.

A number of improvements have taken place since they launched Operation Town Centres last May.

They have five town centre officers patrolling Torquay and Paignton and will soon recruit a sixth. They provide reassurance to residents and businesses and encourage traders and licensees to take up radios to keep in contact with the CCTV control room.

They also have the powers to issue directions to surrender alcohol and dispersal notices to combat ASB. Between May last year and January this year, they and police officers issued more than 400 directions to surrender alcohol and just over 60 dispersal notices.

There’s also been a focus on environmental improvements. Flower beds were planted around Castle Circus and benches being used for ASB have been removed.

SWISCo’s neighbourhood enforcement team, working on behalf of the council seven days a week, has focused on tackling environmental crimes like littering, fly tipping, fly posting, graffiti and dog fouling.

The team, who patrol largely on foot, issued 75 fixed penalty notices between November last year and January of this year but their approach is to engage and educate before carrying out enforcement.

There are now more than 300 CCTV cameras throughout the Bay. Their operators have seen some recent successes including:

• Observing a man carrying out criminal damage. He was later seen committing ASB with a large group and was arrested.
• Spotting a man wanted on warrant for two years. They monitored him until police arrived to arrest him.
• Responding to a retailer who reported a man verbally and racially abusing members of the public. He was identified by an operator and monitored until police arrested him.

The CCTV and Security team are also working closely with police to identify and apprehend young people riding e-bikes on pavements throughout Torquay town centre as well as deterring anti-social behaviour within our car parks.

Councillor Hayley Tranter, Torbay Council’s Cabinet Member of Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities, said: “These achievements show that a lot of work has been taking place over the last few months. It’s also testament to what we can accomplish when we work together towards a common goal.

“Our town centres are now safer and more welcoming for everyone, and we will continue to build on this success in the year ahead to ensure that they remain vibrant and secure places for all residents, businesses and visitors.”

As part of Operation Town Centres, the Council have been collaborating with the police and the police and crime commissioner’s office on the Street Focus project which is specifically tasked with making Torquay town centre safer.

The Street Focus project board invited psychology and criminology students from South Devon College to put forward proposals for revitalising Castle Circus.

The students concluded that many of the ASB problems were linked to homelessness and drug and alcohol abuse.

Their solutions included:

• Offering housing and employment support for people with addictions through a multi-agency hub
• Setting up safe spaces for rough sleepers in empty buildings
• Buying accommodation for the homeless to be used as temporary accommodation
• Setting up more youth clubs
• Engaging with former addicts to educate young people about drug abuse

The board will look at their ideas to see if and how they can be progressed and whether the students can be involved in further projects in the area.

Other projects due to take place over the coming months include plans for a community payback scheme where offenders spruce up town centre areas and the introduction of a crime reporting tool for businesses.