Fears of ‘externally organised protests’ reaching North Yorkshire coast

Concerns About Antisocial Behaviour Were Raised At A Meeting Of The Police And Crime Panel On Wednesday, October 14.

Concerns about anti-social behaviour and the risk of “externally organised protests and disorder” affecting North Yorkshire’s coastal communities have been raised by councillors.

However, the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, Jo Coles, has sought to allay fears, saying York and North Yorkshire remain an “incredibly safe area” where tensions have remained low.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of antisocial behaviour, particularly regarding people coming in from Middlesbrough on the Esk Valley Line,” Cllr Heather Moorhouse told a meeting of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel this week.

Cllr Moorhouse said the situation had improved considerably following joint work involving local agencies and the police.

“I can say that over the three months, we’ve had great support, and the teams have been brilliant really,” she said.

The deputy mayor highlighted the importance of work around community cohesion, intelligence gathering and prevention being carried out by police and partner organisations.

“I think it’s quite easy to overestimate what level of tension there might be, and actually York and North Yorkshire are incredibly safe areas and tensions have been low,” Ms Coles said.

Committee member Caroline O’Neill also raised concerns about the potential for “externally organised protests and disorder” reaching the coast and asked: “What learning points are being taken from the community disruption in Middlesbrough, and also from the disruption on the south coast, and what preventative work in York and North Yorkshire is taking place?”

Responding, Ms Coles said operational policing matters would be referred to North Yorkshire Police but stressed that partnership working was taking place to strengthen community relations and identify potential risks.

Read more

She told the panel she had recently convened a meeting of faith groups from across York and North Yorkshire, with representatives from a range of religious backgrounds attending.

The deputy mayor added that while hate crime figures were moving “in the wrong direction”, the overall numbers remained relatively small compared with other forms of offending.

Jo Coles, York & North Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Cllr Janet Jefferson also voiced concerns about incidents involving young people, including criminal damage, intimidation and vandalism.

Referring to previous youth justice initiatives in Scarborough, she asked whether greater intervention was needed to prevent young offenders becoming “hardened criminals”.

Ms Jefferson highlighted a number of incidents she said had affected coastal communities and argued that more should be done to steer young people away from offending at an earlier stage.

In response, Ms Coles pointed to police data showing anti-social behaviour on the coast had fallen by 13 per cent over the last two years.

Ms Coles added that it was important not to “paint all young people with the same brush” and said many issues involved wider factors such as housing needs, substance misuse and vulnerability.

The deputy mayor said youth services, local authorities, criminal justice agencies and police all had a role to play in preventing criminal behaviour before it escalated.

“Prevention is best done outside of policing,” she said.

“Once someone’s in touch with the police, in some ways you’re already at the wrong end of things.”

She highlighted work with youth justice partners, local councils and community organisations across the county, as well as meetings held over the summer to address anti-social behaviour and deliberate fire setting in coastal areas.

The panel was told written responses would also be sought from North Yorkshire Police on several operational matters raised during the discussion.