Bournemouth Council is applying for officers to have the power to issue fines for anti-social behaviour in Boscombe.
Four members of council staff would be able to crack down on illegal cycling, street drinking and more, to help the ‘under resourced’ police.
The council would need to get approval from Dorset Police first, and officers would then need to be trained before they could issue the penalty notices.Oh, great!
Boscombe West Cllr Jane Kelly, also a cabinet member for regeneration, said the powers would go to four existing staff.
She said: “It’s a wonderful idea. The police are so stretched they can’t do it all.
“From my conversations, the officers they are really keen, they want the place to look better, they want to stop anti-social behaviour.”Do they? And if so, will they target Stabby McChav when he lets Fang defecate on the pavement, or swigs from a can of Special Brew while hurling abuse at passers by?
Or will they quickly cross to the other side of the road and deal with the far more urgent matter of a mother whose toddler has dropped a crisp packet?
Cllr David Smith, cabinet member for communities, said: “This scheme is still in its infancy.
“I am personally keen to get as many powers as possible that the Chief Constable is allowed to give.”Yes. I’ll just bet you are…
Colchester has been one of the leading councils in giving officers enforcement powers.
Cllr Tim Young, its cabinet member for community safety, said: “It’s worked very well indeed.
“They issue a number of fixed penalty notices and it just allows the police to get on with the more serious matters.”But…does it stop the ASB?
Isn’t that the real test, rather than how many fines are issued (and maybe even a few actually paid)..?
15 comments:
Somehow I can't see them either stopping Jimmy McScrote riding his pushbike along the pavement and shouting to pedestrians "gerrout the fuckin' way!"
It's only the low-hanging fruit that will interest them
Personally, I will neither acknowledge nor obey in any way anyone who is not a sworn officer of the Crown. This has 'fit up' written all over it.
Colchester's officers aren't quite as powerful as they'd like to be:
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/local/colchester/8933920.Council_powerless_to_fine_owner_of_dog_who_pooped_in_town_hall/
We have a community safety Officer where I live. Absolutely useless. We'd be better off if we had kept our village bobby. 6ft three inches of chav deterrent.
TFE said "6ft three inches of chav deterrent. "
Yep, and in all likelihood with a longer criminal record than those he's supposed to be protecting people from.
Citizens on patrol is nothing new, the Motorways are now mostly the domain of the "Traffic Womble" instead of the Motorway Cop, the streets seem to have more "community Safety Officers" than beat Coppers and how many villages do you now drive through only to be confronted by a group of Hi-Vis attired septuagenarians taking turns to wave a speed gun at you and furiously noting down registrations?
The one good thing about them all is that they are there to report and nothing else - Yes, they might itimidate some of us with their pseudo "Authority", but that's all it is to most of us. The spin, of course, is that they are "concerned citizens" who are there for our safety - PAH!
XX Macheath said...
Colchester's officers aren't quite as powerful as they'd like to be:
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/local/colchester/8933920.Council_powerless_to_fine_owner_of_dog_who_pooped_in_town_hall/ XX
And, from the link;
XX It happened shortly before the start of a meeting where it was revealed the council had not issued a single fine for dog fouling last year.
Will Quince, former Conservative parliamentary candidate, had gone to the town hall to speak about the problem generally. XX
Oh, just HOW...."convenient" can a dog be?
Are these Council jobsworths going to have arrest powers to go along with their fine-mulcting powers? If not, then the proper response if accosted by one of them is a hearty "fuck off!"
Frankly it would just be more economic to mail fines to every address in Boscombe.
Four officers won't be able to get around them all fast enough!
John M, that made me chuckle, thank you.
Fidel,
Please tell us more about this 6ft 3 inches of criminality. You know him, do you? Or are you just trolling to wind people up. Get thee back under thy bridge and wait for Billy Goat Gruff.
Penseivat
"...will they target Stabby McChav when he lets Fang defecate on the pavement..."
I used to park illegally (but not dangerously) on a service road at the rear of my former office; what were then called Traffic Wardens generally made their presence known and allowed us to move our cars before ticketing strangers.
One day they built 'Social Housing' on that road, soon inhabited by said Stabby McChav and his slags and the road soon got busy with stolen cars. Strangely within a week we were never bothered by Traffic Wardens or CPSOs again.
"It's only the low-hanging fruit that will interest them"
Yup!
"Colchester's officers aren't quite as powerful as they'd like to be"
Heh! I remember that one! :)
"Are these Council jobsworths going to have arrest powers to go along with their fine-mulcting powers?"
Well, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it wasn't being considered.
"Strangely within a week we were never bothered by Traffic Wardens or CPSOs again."
;)
"One day they built 'Social Housing' on that road, soon inhabited by said Stabby McChav and his slags and the road soon got busy with stolen cars. Strangely within a week we were never bothered by Traffic Wardens or CPSOs again."
Getting on to a different subject, but I get the impression that the police deliberately turn a blind eye to all kinds of motoring offences that occur in inner-city areas, especially the requirement to have insurance. All those responsible suburban drivers with jobs and mortgages who have something to lose are much easier pickings :-(
Anonymous said...
Fidel,
Please tell us more about this 6ft 3 inches of criminality. You know him, do you? Or are you just trolling to wind people up. Get thee back under thy bridge and wait for Billy Goat Gruff.
Penseivat
Hell hath no fury like a CSO scorned eh? :0)))
If you have ever been to Boscombe, and I have many times. You will realise it is a shithole, drugs. prostitutes at least 10 massage parlours, high levels of crime, clubs and pubs being closed down for every illegal thing you can think of. We used to call it little liverpool, now just the United nations. Fuck these jobsworth officer the only thing that will clear Boscombe is tactical nukes.
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