Kick bad behaviour out for good (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Kick bad behaviour out for good

8:34am Monday 22nd June 2009

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There is no doubt that these are tough times for Bradford city centre businesses.

Customer numbers will have been hit by rising unemployment while many of those in work are nervous about what the future holds, preferring to pay off debts or save rather than spend.

And this is, of course, on top of the fact that Bradford is still without its promised retail centre to pull in the crowds, with the Westfield development on hold for the foreseeable future.

Despite these considerable difficulties, however, there are many shops and other businesses in the city which continue to provide an excellent service to their customers, together with some promising new, high-quality businesses opening up.

The last thing they need, though, is someone trying to drag them down, yet that is just what the five individuals pictured on our front page have been doing.

These people have been a thorn in the side of businesses and their staff for years, clocking up more than 100 arrests and countless offences – mainly for shoplifting – between them.

And it is also highly likely that their behaviour will have put other people off coming to the city centre to shop.

So the move to ban them from stores will be welcomed by traders and shoppers alike.

Other criminals must now face the same treatment and perhaps the process could be speeded up so anti-social behaviour is nipped in the bud well before a similar number of arrests is reached.

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