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Chief Inspector Wendy Tinkler, Cleveland Police and Dale Metcalfe, Operational
Community Safety Manager (Middlesbrough Council) will be in attendance to
provide information on Off road bikes, Operation Edmonton and strategies in
place to tackle the situation in Middlesbrough. |
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed Dale Metcalfe, Operational
Community Safety Manager (Middlesbrough Council) to the meeting to discuss the
issue of Off road bikes. The Panel had also hoped to hear from Chief Inspector
Wendy Tinkler, however due to unforeseen
circumstances, she was unable to attend and would be in attendance at the next
meeting to provide a police prospective.
The
Manager advised that he would provide information of what the council have been
doing and what they can do (from a council perspective ). The issue of off road
bikes is effectively a police issue, as under the Road Traffic Act they are
able to prosecute and take action.
The
Council are instrumental in what is known as 'Operation Endurance', a scheme
that aims to crack down on nuisance
riders and motorists initially in the Cleveland areas. The Scheme is led by
Cleveland Police, however works with partners, including Middlesbrough Council
and Thirteen. From the Council, Neighbourhood wardens and community safety
officers will join forces with the Road traffic team to crack down on this
issue.
Under
the Road Traffic Act 1988;
It
is illegal to drive or ride a mechanically propelled vehicle without lawful
authority on common land, moorland or land not forming part of a road, or on
any road which is a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway.
The
manager provided the panel with an example of where Operation Endurance had
been effectively.
On
Sunday 7th August, it is estimated over 100 persons gathered across various
locations in Middlesbrough on off and on road bikes, cars and quads. A subsequent “ride” out commenced where the
group rode to Marske via the Trunk Road, Eston High Street and Redcar in convoy before returning to
Middlesbrough where they dispersed.
Some
of the bikes/quads were ridden in a dangerous and anti- social manner with
footage being shared across various social media sites. Middlesbrough Council
have worked with Cleveland Police to identify these individuals (around 45
individuals) and action has been taken in relation to arrests and bikes
involved seized. The Council's CCTV was used in this operation, along with
private residents’ footage. A panel member queried how many of the individuals
were from Middlesbrough, and this question would be addressed by Cleveland
Police.
It
is known that several railing fences were cut down by the offenders in order to
gain easy access to “cut through” points for the intended route. These have now
been repaired by Middlesbrough Council with additional target hardening methods
put in place to prevent/ reduce the risk of this happening again in the future.
In terms of new estates, Cleveland police are involved from the off set to see
if there are any possibilities to include bollards/ traffic calming measures,
however any measures need to ensure they meet DDA compliance.
In
terms of supporting the police, the Council have measures in place through the
Statement of Policy and Procedures for Antisocial Behaviour to assist and there
are 5 strands:
Stage
1; warning letters,
Stage
2; Second warning letter
Stage
3; joint interviews (with parents and perpetrators), contracts and anti-social
behaviour agreements
Stage
4; Final warning
Stage
5; fixed Penalty Notices and penalty notices for disorder /parenting Orders,
Noise Abatement Notices, Civil Injunctions, CPN’s, Public Space Protection
Orders (PSPO) and Criminal Behaviour Orders for offenders with criminal
behaviour linked to antisocial behaviour
These
measures may not follow these stages, however quite often with younger people,
the stages must be built to support evidence in Court especially for example,
in supporting to put an anti-social injunction (ASI) on an individual.
Statement of Policy and Procedures for
Antisocial Behaviour, paragraph 4 identifies the importance of the
Neighbourhood Safety Wardens and Neighbourhood Safety Officers, advising that:
The
teams gather and receive intelligence and evidence from a variety of sources,
i.e. resident diary sheets, Ward Members, Police AS13 data and Neighbourhood
Safety Warden incident reports. As front line officers they will quickly
identify emerging trends, hotspot locations and perpetrators responsible. As a
result, the team play a crucial role in the Active Intelligence Mapping (AIM)
process where officers are often identified as “problem owners” due to their
co-ordinated multi-agency approach when tackling the issues. This in essence is a huge part of Operation
Endurance.
Following the
information, the following areas were discussed:
·
Use of
SMART water- codes linked to an officer and under UV light, the unique code is
identified (this would be address with Cleveland Police)
·
Identification
of individuals ( clothing/ different processes)- further information to be
provided by Cleveland Police
·
Education
to young people- Cleveland Fire brigade- school liaison officers provide
sessions to show the risks of riding off road bikes.
·
Continue
to push messages through social media for the public to report off road bikes.
·
Would
be wonderful if all bikes could be registered to an address, however this may
not be possible.
·
Hot
spots and AIM- motorcycle riders are asked to remove their helmet in petrol
station forecourts.
·
Many
residents like to remain anonymous, which is fine, however council do like to
provide feedback / action undertaken to residents.
·
Cleveland
Online report APP (COPA)- a free app where off road bikes can be reported,
·
Section
59 warning signs and effects of this.
The panel were encouraged by the information provided
and looked forward to receiving further information from Cleveland Police at
the next meeting.
AGREED- That the information be noted.