BRADFORD police have revealed that a 19 per cent increase in anti-social behaviour in the district over the last year is mostly down to illegal use of motor vehicles.
Figures from data.police show that over 2,000 more anti-social crimes were recorded from March 2020 – February 2021 (12,875) than in the same period across the previous year (10,776).
Police say they have addressed the main cause by increasing the activity of Operation Steerside.
Chief Inspector Bash Anwar, of Bradford District Police, said: “Bradford Police did record an increase in anti-social behaviour (ASB) in 2020, with the majority of this due to a significant uplift in reports of the anti-social use of motor vehicles during the Covid pandemic.
“To tackle this increase, the district’s Steerside team worked seven days a week using innovative tactics to address anti-social and dangerous driving on the district’s road network.
“Between March of 2020 and 2021, the team seized 327 vehicles, made 76 arrests, issued 1,115 fixed penalty notices and summonsed 440 people to court for driving offences.”
Since the pandemic hit, the district has been riddled with incidents of reckless driving.
Cast your minds back to March 2020, when the first lockdown was introduced, and a group of yobs took advantage of the unusually-quiet traffic conditions by doing wheelies up and down Wakefield Road under Dudley Hill underpass (top image).
It is from this point forward that the anti-social behaviour numbers seem to increase, especially a couple of months later in the summer. May - October accounts for 7,486 of the 23,651 grand total, that is 31 per cent.
The Chief Inspector continued: “A number of other initiatives to tackle other forms of anti-social behaviour have also been underway in the district, based around work with partners including Bradford Council to try and find long term solutions to issues.
“In Bradford East, we have used dispersal orders when necessary, but also carried out early intervention work to prevent problems from starting and worked with housing partners to move several tenants from the area.
“We have now also identified youths responsible for a core of issues there, and have similarly identified offenders in Holme Wood.
"Tactics including the use of undercover officers on buses have also been employed there and we are finding residents are more willing to come forward and report offences.”
In recent days, Tong Councillor Alan Wainwright (Lab) has been critical of the parents of teenagers in his ward for allowing the “little runts out at night to cause all sorts of mayhem.”
Although community centres, boxing gyms and youth clubs, usually the force to help stop this kind of behaviour amongst youths, are now back open, fellow Tong Cllr Matt Edwards (GP) thinks more needs to be done.
He added: “Young people in Holme Wood have been really let down – there was hardly anything for them to do before the pandemic and even less during. We need to come up with some new ways to change.
“Anti-social behaviour is a big concern for residents in Holme Wood. A small minority who are responsible for it impact the whole community.
“It is a complex issue and there is no easy fix. But we need to accept that a lot of what has been done up to the point doesn’t seem to be working.”
Chief Inspector Anwar added: “Projects also remain ongoing to address issues such as street drinking related ASB in Keighley and Bradford city centre.”
Cllr Abdul Jabar, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, said: “There has been a rise in anti-social behaviour in 2020 and this rise is, in my view, unacceptable.
“The Council has implemented measures to tackle all kinds of anti-social behaviour including the new legislation to fine vehicle litter louts and the roll out of Public Space Protection Orders against street drinking and anti-social vehicle use.
“But we will always do more to ensure that the good citizens in the district do not have their lives made miserable by a small minority.”
“We will continue to strongly support the efforts of the police in tackling the scourge of anti-social behaviour and aim to increase success going forward.
“We are determined to support communities by helping as much as we can to rid them of this pernicious menace.”
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