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News
New Patrols Say ‘On Your Bike’ to
Anti-Social Behaviour!
14 March 2007
Pedal power is the latest weapon in the war against anti-social
behaviour in the Borough. From April onwards, Council Enforcement
Staff and PSNI Officers will be getting on their bikes and
undertaking joint patrols in areas where anti-social behaviour
such as underage drinking and littering has been identified
as a problem. As we look towards the summer months this
offers a cleaner, greener approach to ensuring a cleaner,
safer Borough.
The new patrols allow for both education and enforcement.
Officers will be more accessible to the public as they patrol
on bikes and the increase in personal contact will provide
a great opportunity for conversation and information sharing.
Simultaneously, enforcement action can be taken speedily,
where necessary, as Officers will be there on the spot to
witness breaches of bye-laws such as for drinking in designated
areas, littering and dog fouling.
Welcoming the new ‘pedal patrols’ Mayor of
North Down, Councillor Alan Leslie commented, “For
some years now Council Enforcement Officers have undertaken
evening patrols at weekends with the PSNI, facilitating
a joint approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour problems.
The new day-time patrols take this effective partnership
a step further and will make a big difference to dealing
with problems such as underage drinking, graffiti and littering,
which traditionally increase during the summer months. Officers
will target areas that we receive complaints about, such
as Castle Park, Ballyholme Esplanade and Eisenhower Pier,
as well as parts of the Borough that are more accessible
by bike than van. Patrolling will begin at the start of
April as we are determined to get a message across to people,
in time for summer, that anti-social behaviour is not acceptable
in this Borough.”
The PSNI is pleased to help champion this new green approach
to tackling anti-social behaviour in North Down. Sergeant
Bailie of Bangor PSNI comments, “PSNI Officers are
looking forward to getting on their bikes in support of
this initiative, which we believe will have a significant
positive impact across the Borough. The use of bikes should
strike a chord with the younger generation who are a key
target for many of the education messages we are trying
to get across through the patrols. As the patrols will be
very visible we also anticipate they will increase public
confidence that both the PSNI and Council take anti-social
behaviour very seriously. Furthermore, Officers can travel
faster on bikes than on foot which will give us the element
of surprise over would-be offenders.”
Daytime patrols will start at Easter and continue throughout
the summer months.
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