Gateshead Wardens and Police Support Officers have been active this week delivering Anti-Social Behaviour Order leaflets to approximately 1,000 residents and shops in the Gateshead area.
Gateshead Wardens and Police Support Officers have been active this week delivering Anti-Social Behaviour Order leaflets to approximately 1,000 residents and shops in the Gateshead area. The leaflets contain information regarding recent ASBO subjects - Jamie Lee Cameron and Karl Tron including photographs and the conditions of their ASBOs. Any breach of these conditions is a criminal offence and could result in a prison sentence.
Gateshead Community Safety Partnership has agreed that each ASBO case in Gateshead will be looked at with a view of publicising the details through the use of information leaflets. The decision will be made by Gateshead’s ASBO Panel which consists of senior Council officers, police officers, solicitors and Gateshead Housing Company representatives.
Councillor Linda Green, cabinet member for Community Safety, at Gateshead Council said,
“ASBOs are not a punishment but are community orders which are in place to protect members of the public from serious or persistent anti-social behaviour.
“We use ASBOs in extreme circumstances when every other intervention has been exhausted as part of our graded response.
“We will look at future cases individually on its merits and decide upon the benefits of publicising ASBOs in this way. We believe that leaflets are an effective way of feeding back to the majority of our law-abiding residents, when we have successfully obtained ASBOs and this information enables residents to help us police the Orders.
“We also believe that in publicising the information in this way - this will act as a deterrent to those who are on the fringes of causing anti-social behaviour.”
Community Police Inspector for Central Gateshead, Les Pattison said,
“Northumbria Police are happy to support the distribution of this information. Many of the residents who receive the leaflets will have been victims or will have witnessed the anti-social behaviour that these offenders were guilty of. The successful application for ASBOs against these youths is the result of a coordinated multi-agency effort to target these offenders and bring some respite to the local community who have suffered from their behaviour.
“I would urge all of the recipients to make themselves aware of the information, and report any breaches immediately to the police. The offenders can be arrested for a breach of an ASBO, and can receive a prison sentence. Northumbria police will actively pursue and investigate any alleged breach.”