A quiet rural town is being blighted by anti-social behaviour to the extent it cannot hold certain events due to fears of vandalism according to a councillor.
Ponteland is not the first place that springs to mind when it comes to anti-social behaviour hotspots - but the Northumberland town is facing growing issues that have left local councillors and police searching for a solution.
Coun Richard Dodd, who represents Ponteland North on Northumberland County Council and also sits on Ponteland Town Council, referenced the issue at a council meeting last month. He claimed anti-social behaviour was "rife" in the town and young people had been attempting to light fires and were leaving considerable amounts of litter in public places.
Read more: 'Selfish behaviour' slammed after part of Ponteland park set on fire
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Coun Dodd said: "As a town council, we struggle to put on events.
"We can't put a big tent up and leave it up overnight, because it will be vandalised. We can't put out portaloos either, because they will be vandalised.
"Its becoming a nightmare by a handful of kids. We believe that a big percentage come from outside the area.
"We've had meetings with police and we've put money into youth services, but still they want to hang around and cause trouble. We have CCTV up but they all have a uniform of a black hoodie so they can't be identified.
"I don't know where we go from here."
Coun Dodd believes Northumbria Police should be doing more to stop anti-social behaviour and believes not enough charges are handed out.
He continued: "We as a council are not the body that deals with crime. We can help with provision but it is down to the police.
"The police seem as if they don't want to charge anybody with anything in case young people get a criminal record. When I was younger the papers were full of it but it doesn't seem to happen now.
"The police seem to have a zero-policy of charging people. The real crime is when the police are chasing them around Ponteland, like a cat and mouse act. It is all over similar sized towns."
Responding to Coun Dodd's comments, Northumbria Police said anti-social behaviour in Ponteland had decreased following action by officers, and that the force focused on "diversionary methods" with young people rather than charging them and giving them a criminal record.
Sergeant Kate Benson, of Northumbria Police, said: “As a force, we are committed to tackling all forms of anti-social behaviour and we understand the impact that the behaviour of a few can have on our communities.
“That’s why throughout the year, we run a number of dedicated operations to tackle pockets of disorder, identify suspects and work with partners in order to deal with offenders swiftly and appropriately.
“In this particular area, as a result of this proactive work which includes Operation Laurel to specifically tackle disorder in and around the park area, we have seen a consistent decrease in the number of anti-social behaviour reports made to us during the summer months.
“So far this year, between June and August, we have seen a 31% reduction from 2021 and that follows last year’s trend which saw a further 23% decrease from 2020.
“Despite this encouraging trend, however, there is no room for complacency. We will continue to investigate any reports of anti-social behaviour made to us, and pursue criminal action against perpetrators.
“If and where appropriate, we and our partners will also consider diversionary methods in order to guide young people away from a life of crime in order to protect the communities we serve.”
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