THE police and council officials have praised a Gaunless Valley village for coming together as a community to tackle anti-social behaviour,
A special meeting, organised by Evenwood Parish Council, was held at the Randolph Community Centre to address the rising number of complaints of anti-social behaviour by youths.
Initially tensions were running high with claims of “feeling forgotten” and “nothing being done by the police” .
But the meeting finished with proposals being put forward for a youth shelter.
“This was one of the most successful meetings of this nature I’ve been to with so many young people here and it shows the strength of the community,” said Chief Constable Mike Barton.
Neighbourhood police inspector Andy Reeves and Durham County Council’s anti-social behaviour officer, Ray Gage, joined Mr Barton and concerned residents to try to resolve the problems during the hour-long meeting. The turnout was greater than anticipated and extra chairs had to be put out to accommodate the large number of residents who turned up to air their grievances. There were also a number of village children. Residents complained about children climbing on roofs, spitting in the street, drugs and flytipping, as well as the ineffectiveness of PCSOs.
Robert Adams, secretary of Evenwood Workingmen’s Club, felt aggrieved because he and his members had spent a great deal of money refurbishing the premises, installing solar panels to the roof and young people were clambering around on it
Although he had CCTV footage of some of these offences nothing was being done, he said.
“The same names get passed on and it’s the same thing every time, nothing happens,” Mr Adams said.
By the end of the evening Mr Adams offered the use of the club for the children to host an under-18 disco. If any anti-social behaviour was carried out then it would be caught on his CCTV cameras, he said.
“We can’t send children to prison for anti-social behaviour” said Mr Barton. “It’s a spiral of decline. We have to work together for all those living here.
“They’re your kids in your village. Labelling kids only enflames tensions. You start labelling children before they’re 16 you pretty much have a criminal for life. We need to keep them from being labelled. There is a lot more pressure on public space now. We need to give the kids a feeling of ownership and engage with them.”
Part way through the meeting Mr Barton asked everyone to split into groups with representatives of each age group so they could write down their grievances and talk things through.
Suggestions for a pod or shed specifically for the children to use was greeted with some enthusiasm. Mr Gage, anti-social behaviour officer for Durham County Council, explained giving the children “ownership” would go someway to making them feel part of the community. Mr Gage said he will work with the community to secure funding but said it was important to get residents involved with the design and build.
Chairwoman of Evenwood Parish Council Cllr Barbara Nicholson said: “Maybe we’ve turned a corner.
“Full marks to all the children who came along and got involved.
“As long as all involved carry on and do what they say they are going to do.”
Insp Andy Reeves said: “There have been some great ideas put forward and there is plenty to work on.”
