A NEW wave of contracts which act as a final warning before police can escalate matters against teenagers engaging in antisocial behaviour have been dished out to yobs identified by the police.
Officers have been dealing with the issue since members of the public - backed by councillors - complained about teenagers causing havoc in Barnsley’s parks, the town centre’s transport interchange and Asda, off Old Mill Lane, last summer.
Recent problems, which have affected Cudworth and Shafton, have allegedly seen youngsters between the ages of 13 and 15 cause thousands of pounds in damage at the parks, throw fireworks at passing vehicles and allegedly cut pigeons’ wings off.
A tough initial stance was adopted by Barnsley Council’s Safer Neighbourhood Service - which included the threat of ripping up parents’ tenancy agreements - but police warned against ‘criminalising’ children and instead pushed for contracts to be handed out.
The acceptable behaviour contract (ABC), which is signed by the police, the offender and a parent or carer, includes items which the youth must adhere to and, if they are caught being involved in any antisocial act, will then be issued with a community protection notice (CPN) before court action can be pursued.
PC Clare Sidaway, who has played a role in implementing the contracts in Barnsley, said: “Recently 19 ABCs have been issued as it’s the first real step the police and council can jointly take to reduce antisocial behaviour within the town’s communities.
“Parents are also on board with what the contracts are trying to achieve which is a big help, but in Cudworth and Shafton we’ve encountered separate groups of teenagers who we are dealing with.
“We’ve also worked alongside schools in those areas and so far it appears the project, which has involved a lot of work, has fractured the groups up as the contract makes parents get involved.”
Sgt Dave Baines said lessons had been learned from the successes of dealing with antisocial behaviour in the town centre.
“We had months of trouble around McDonald’s and Asda last year and residents were affected by that as we had large groups of teens in the area,” he added.
“By issuing things such as warning letters and contracts, it allows us to act in the correct manner and take positive action without criminalising children.
“We’ve been cautious not to do this.
“Having parents’ support is key and although we’ve done a lot of work in reducing antisocial behaviour and it’s calmed down somewhat, it’s something we will continue to monitor as we’re fully aware the problems it causes for Barnsley’s law-abiding residents.”
