Surprise data on anti-social behaviour in York after ongoing issues

Police facial recognition van in Davygate, York, on Wednesday (September 23) (Image: Newsquest)i>

Zero breaches of an anti-social behaviour order have been recorded since December, according to new figures, despite ongoing issues being recorded in York communities this year.

A Freedom of Information request found that since its introduction in December 2025, the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) has recorded zero breaches of its terms and has seen zero fixed penalty notices or other formal enforcement actions issued within the city walls.

Despite the fact there have been zero recorded breaches, some locals and business owners continue to complain of anti-social behaviour within the York area.

A PSPO is a legal power available to local authorities to address behaviours that have a negative impact on urban life and was introduced under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

However, following a request from North Yorkshire Police, the council is proposing to target five new behaviours under the PSPO. These are intimidation and coercion, persisting in requests, pestering or pursuing, invading personal space and disorderly gatherings.

Ahead of the proposal for increased PSPO targets, councillor Anna Perrett, executive member with responsibility for safer communities, said: “We are committed to ensuring that York remains a safe, welcoming and enjoyable place for residents, businesses and visitors.”

In a 2025 PSPO report the council said: “The city centre faces different issues to many other areas across the city, including large number of groups of people travelling into the city to enjoy the hospitality offer, but also street drinking and begging.

"This often creates behaviour which residents, local businesses and visitors find intimidating, and the city’s spaces appear to be unsafe.”

Despite this statement the PSPO does not currently record the number of warnings issued and therefore it is not possible to understand whether warnings for such behaviours have been handed out.

Police officers and Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers (NEO) have the ability to enforce PSPO and City of York Council.

Police from numerous units were out in force during Operation Super Tornado in York on September 23 (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police told The Press: “The PSPO is about preventing crime and anti-social behaviour.

“We use the PSPO powers to warn people, which reduces the requirement to resort to enforcement.

"There are other powers that we use alongside PSPO powers for enforcement, including public order legislation and dispersal orders.”

North Yorkshire Police also stated it can confirm it is planning to record warnings issued under the PSPO in the future.

Earlier this year, The Press reported that Haxby Town Council were encouraging residents to report anti-social behaviour (ASB) or crime to police rather than posting and commenting on social media.

A spokesperson for Haxby Town Council said: "If incidents are not properly reported then we cannot expect a police response.

"We actively encourage our residents to continue to report ASB incidents as this enables more police presence in the area.

Whilst Haxby Town Council is independent of City of York Council the complaints indicate a trend of anti-social behaviour being underreported across the area.