Police telling the yobs to ‘get out of town’

Dec 13 2007 by Paul James, The Journal

A TEENAGE troublemaker is due before the courts after refusing to leave Hexham town centre when ordered to by police.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, was with an 18-year-old on Friday night as police were patrolling the town centre.

Officers are currently targeting under-age drinkers as part of the Northumbria force’s Enough is Enough campaign, which is also clamping down on shops that provide them with alcohol.

The same officers in Hexham also seized a case of lager and two bottles of vodka from youngsters on Friday.

Using their Direction to Leave powers, which apply to people aged 16 and over, gives officers the ability to remove individuals who contribute to alcohol-related disorder.

If they return within a period of up to 48 hours, they can be arrested and placed before the courts, and the 17-year-old teenager is now due before Tynedale Magistrates’ Court.

The 18-year-old man was cautioned by police.

Officers have also been making regular checks on licensed premises and adding extra patrols across Northumberland.

Chief Insp Simon Packham, of Northumberland Area Command, said: “While the majority of young people are well behaved, there is a small minority of them responsible for anti-social behaviour in Northumberland.

“We want to reassure people that we are responding to their concerns about young people congregating on street corners drinking alcohol.”

Meanwhile, police in the county are also working to promote the Shopwatch scheme, where store staff are given two-way radios so they can speak to other stores about problem customers and also contact the police if there are major difficulties or crimes in progress.

People causing problems can be served exclusion notices by the shops and if someone is banned by one store, they could be barred from the rest of the shops in the scheme.

Hexham Neighbourhood Inspector Kevin Oates said: “The run-up to Christmas is always the busiest time of the year for major stores and that can bring an increase in crime and disorder.

“We are determined that a small minority will not disrupt everybody else’s pleasure and are working closely with the major store chains to provide an increased police presence.

“We’re also giving stores crime prevention advice and asking them to check that their CCTV systems are up and running correctly.

“By working together, we aim to ensure the thousands of shoppers visiting Northumberland’s stores have a safe and happy Christmas.”

One of the stores in the scheme is the Tesco supermarket in Hexham. Jim Postings, security and loss prevention manager at the shop, said: “As part of the North-East Retail Crime Partnership, Tesco is committed to working closely with the police to provide a safe and pleasant shopping experience for customers and staff.”