Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
|Home
Contact Norman at:
Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
This website has been partly paid for from the funds made available to every MP to assist them in communicating with and representing their constituents.
Printed and hosted by Pipex Communications UK Ltd, Humber Buildings, Humber Rd, Beeston, Notts, NG9 2ET. Published and promoted by Norman Baker MP, House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 1AA. The views expressed are those of Norman Baker, not of the service provider.
MP welcomes police action to tackle anti-social behaviour in Polegate
A menu of action is to be implemented by Sussex Police to tackle problems of anti-social behaviour in Polegate town centre, local MP Norman Baker today reveals. He was speaking in Polegate, following a top-level meeting with the new Wealden District Chief Inspector, Neil Honnor.
The MP had requested the meeting following recent problems at weekends, which have led to a car being damaged, a shop window being smashed, and a spate of graffiti appearing. There have been reports of up to 50 young people congregating either near the level or near the church, which many have found intimidating. Norman has also received a petition from local traders, demanding action to curb the problems.
Norman Baker made clear in a letter to the Chief Inspector that the people of Polegate are looking to the police for action and asked for an update when they met. At the meeting, the police set out to the MP the action being taken:
- Extra patrols are being provided for Friday and Saturday evenings
- Consideration is being given to a possible Dispersal Order, which would enable police to break up large groups of youths congregating in the town centre
- 11 youths have been arrested for alleged graffiti offences. The police are considering 5 of them for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs, and 3 others for Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs)
- In a clampdown on underage alcohol sales, 2 local shops have been served with £80 fixed penalty notices for selling alcohol to minors, and this has been reported to the licensing authority
- Alcohol has been seized from young people drinking in the street, and poured away
- A new Community Support Officer is in training and will be on the streets of Polegate within the month
- A youth worker is being drafted in on Friday evenings.
Norman says: "There is a lot of anger amongst the traders in Polegate about the level of anti-social behaviour and what is regarded as the inadequate police response to date. Having now met Chief Inspector Neil Honnor, I am confident that the police are now taking this matter seriously. I will be keeping in close touch with the police to monitor progress.
"Part of the problem, of course is that, the skateboard facility aside, there is not much for teenagers to do in Polegate in the evening. The government has recently announced extra funds to provide diversionary facilites for just this group, and with the police, I will be investigating whether some of this money can be made available for Polegate."