9:40am Friday 13th March 2009
By Gavin Aitchison
POLICE could order people to stay away from a large part of York, under new plans to combat antisocial behaviour.
Officers want to set up a “dispersal zone” in Clifton, which would give them new powers to tackle disorder.
They would be able to disperse groups of people and also ban those from outside the area for 24 hours.
PC Stuart Hodge, of the Clifton policing team, has written to residents calling for support for the plan, but local councillor David Scott today voiced concern and called for the idea to be debated at a public meeting.
He said: “Clifton should not be used as an experiment for over the top and heavy-handed policing methods.”
The proposed dispersal zone would be bounded by the railway and the A19 Clifton-Bootham road, and would include Burton Stone Lane, Kingsway North, Crichton Avenue, Burdyke Avenue and neighbouring streets.
PC Hodge said the area was based on residents’ complaints about antisocial behaviour.
He wrote: “Antisocial behaviour has been an issue for those living and working in parts of Clifton for some time. As part of my work as the neighbourhood police officer for Clifton, I have been striving to deal with this in a number of ways.”
Letters were sent to residents in February, but Coun Scott said he and his colleagues were only informed last week.
He said: “There are significant issues of freedom and liberty and no such application should be made in secret or by consulting just a selected few. North Yorkshire Police has a duty to hold public meetings to explain their intentions.
“I have so far not be given any evidence to support the need for the order, why the area has to be so large and why normal policing has failed. As a minimum, those questions need to be answered.”
He said he had also received complaints about the idea from residents, and said he had written to the commander for York and the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, asking for an explanation.
A police spokesman said: “Around 1,700 letters will be sent to the households affected in Clifton ward as part of the dispersal order consultation process, which is still in its very early stages. If a public meeting is desired following consultation then one can easily be arranged.”
He said a dispersal zone would only be set up if supported locally, and said such orders had been successfully introduced in York before, including in Clifton.
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