Police are successfully targeting anti-social behaviour in the Armley Town Street area, a meeting of local councillors has been told.
Inspector Phil Gill, of the inner west neighbourhood policing team, said work was ongoing to tackle problems with street drinking on Town Street.
He said a ‘Partial Closure Order’ was granted by magistrates for Armley Town Street and the surrounding area in July. The order, which prohibits possession of open containers of alcohol in public places other than licensed or residential premises, has now been extended until January 14, 2022.
Speaking at an inner west community committee meeting in Leeds Civic Hall, Insp Gill added:
“We believe this is the first time in the whole country that this type of order is being used to cover such a large area, and it has been met with great success. a number of people have been in court as a result. We will continue to tackle this issue.”
WLD reported last month that the order had seen five people receive injunctions banning them from street drinking in the area, with 35 warnings issued and a further 13 breaches identified for further action through the courts.
Insp Gill said officers had also been targeting local businesses in partnership with with Trading Standards, and had seized £35,000 of illegal tobacco.
A number of drug warrants had also been issued in Armley, recovering £800,000 of drugs. Insp Gill added:
“I would encourage the community to report things to us that they don’t believe should be happening and we will take action.”
Insp Gill also said officers were working with community development organisation Barca-Leeds to tackle anti-social behaviour in Bramley Shopping Centre, and said there had been recent initiatives to tackle issues with speeding in parts of Bramley.
Councillor Fiona Venner (Lab, Kirkstall) called for more operations to target specific areas where there was a problem with speeding and issue tickets. She said:
“We all get lots of complaints about speeding in all three wards.”
Cllr Lou Cunningham (Lab, Armley) added that community road safety days were held in Armley, using hand-held speed in dictator divides and which were effective at educating drivers.
Insp Gill also said officers were working on tackling issues at Cardigan Fields in Burley, including theft from people and bikes getting stolen.
Cllr John Illingworth (Lab, Kirkstall) pointed to issues with graffiti and added: “It would be good to catch somebody in the act – detection rates are very poor.”
The inner west community committee is made up of councillors from Kirkstall, Armley and Bramley & Stanningley wards, alongside co-opted members of the public.
To find out which ward you live in, who your local councillors are and how to contact them, enter your postcode at democracy site Write To Them.
What is the best channel for reporting kerbside drug deals i.e. car roars up to individual, who has obviously been instructed where to wait, a furtive exchange of cash and goods, car roars off to next drop. Will the police actually respond to these reports, which can only really be car descriptions and reg numbers? What about the potential for reprisals?