Police say reports of street drinking on Armley Town Street have plummeted since court orders were issued.
In the 15 months between August 2014 to October 2015 West Yorkshire Police received 50 calls in relation to people drinking alcohol in and around Armley Town Street and causing anti-social behaviour.
In October, court orders were issued, banning regular offenders from street drinking in the area.
In the seven months since then there have only been eight calls in relation to people drinking alcohol.
While the figures released by police aren’t an apples to apples comparison due to different time periods involved, police say the results are still encouraging. A spokesperson said:
“We would like to thank all members of the public and partner agencies for your assistance in helping West Yorkshire Police to dramatically reduce incidents surounding anti-social behaviour in and around the Armley Town Street area.”
All well and good. What the police don’t say is what the mean by ‘calls’ – are these telephone calls, do they include reports made via other means? Have people got so fed up with the problem they don’t report it any more?
So while the data is flawed, it would appear that things are starting to improve in the area.
What do you think? Are the issues with street drinking improving? Have your say in the comments and in the poll below.
While I personally welcome any effort to rid Armley Town Street of its ‘street drinkers’ I think that it should be remembered that the last 7 months were essentially the coldest months of the year. It will be interesting to see if this downturn holds up as the weather gets warmer. Hope so!