Pledge to tackle antisocial behaviour in Yorkshire's towns and cities

People should not have to tolerate antisocial behavior, the policing minister has said, as new rules come into force to tackle high street drinking and nuisance conduct.

From today, offenders could be hit with tougher restrictions as Labour’s new Respect Orders come into force.

The new rules, dished out by the courts, can see people banned from public spaces, stopped from drinking in high streets and parks or made subject to a curfew.

Policing Minister Sarah Jones has said anti-social behaviour (ASB) should not be “normalised or accepted”. She said: “We know, across the country, antisocial behaviour is pernicious.

“We want our neighbourhoods to be places where people can enjoy, they can feel safe, they can go to the pub, they can go to the shop, they can get their hair done, without feeling like they are going to be abused by somebody, threatened by somebody, or see something horrific going on in their neighbourhoods. That’s what we should all be aiming for.

“I know there’s a lot more that we need to be doing, but we are trying our best to make sure every single tool that police need, that the council need, is there, so that they can use them to tackle these problems.”

Under the new legislation, Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) are also strengthened, with more powers and higher fines to protect towns and city centres.

Many communities have commented on the challenge in Yorkshire, with North Yorkshire Council among those to draw up plans this summer.

In Middlesbrough, the council is now considering a ban on the use of balaclavas, with Mayor Chris Cooke saying there are “very few reasons” as to why someone would need to wear one in public.

In Doncaster, a newly agreed PSPO comes into effect next week, adding a clause around the use of “nuisance” megaphones. And in York, surveys have revealed, there is “overwhelming” support for a crackdown on street drinking and antisocial groups in the city centre.

Poor behaviour is making communities feel unsafe and damaging the city’s reputation, according to a new council survey with more than 500 respondents.

Stronger powers are to be discussed by councillors today, after council data showed at least three reports of ASB were made every day last year.

The Policing Minister, on a visit to meet with Staffordshire Police as the new orders come into force, said she was hearing from residents about the impact ASB has.

“It’s something that makes us feel less comfortable going into our town centres and that’s what we want to try and reverse,” she said.

“We just need that concerted effort so that everybody is saying antisocial behaviour is not low level, it’s not something that comes last on the list of priorities, it should be upfront as a really big push from all the different agencies to tackle it.”