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17
May 2022
Policing in Ripon comes under a barrage of fire
Policing in Ripon came under a barrage of fire last night at a packed public meeting at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre.
Insp. Alex Langley, who heads Ripon's neighbourhood policing team, chaired the hour-long meeting and faced a potent mix of concerned residents and newly-elected city councillors.
The councillors came fresh from weeks of pre-election doorstep meetings where thousands of voters put Ripon's recurring problem of anti-social behaviour top of the agenda.
Among the attendees were residents who have suffered violent attacks at the hands of young thugs and witnessed their property being destroyed in incidents for which nobody appears to have been prosecuted.
Youths with iron bars attacked this car in a residential street, as the owner rang 999 and waited for police to arrive.
A taxi driver, who has both suffered and witnessed violence while on the rank in Market Place East, has also been threatened and seen hooded youths using iron bars to smash cars and house windows in the street where he lives.
He asked Insp. Langley:
When Insp Langley said he did not have that information, the taxi driver responded:
City centre CCTV failings
The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Eamon Parkin asked:
No arrests have been made or prosecutions brought against the vandal or vandals who have targeted the Cabmen's Shelter
Insp Langley replied:
There was a resounding response of 'yes' from the floor.
Cllr Pauline McHardy said:
Cllr Andrew Williams said:
Police and Crime Commissioner did not attend
Cllr Williams said that this and other matters impacting on the effectiveness of policing in Ripon had been raised with North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe, to whom a formal complaint had been made by the city council.
He said:
Cllr Barbara Brodigan, who is newly-elected to serve on the North Yorkshire unitary authority as well as the city council, said:
Unanswered 101 calls
In addition to use of CCTV and police resources, concerns were raised throughout the meeting about the delay in getting a response to 101 calls.
A resident told the meeting:
That feeling of frustration was echoed throughout the meeting and heightened when Councillor Tony Duncan was told by Insp Langley that he would need to submit a Freedom of Information request to find out how many 101 calls to Ripon police go unanswered.
An estimated 80 people attended the meeting, many of them standing.
At the start of the meeting when Insp Langley showed a graph indicating a downward trend over the past 22 month of recorded anti-social behaviour incidents in the Minster Ward, his presentation was interrupted by Cllr Williams, who said:
The 101 problem
Insp. Langley accepted that there is a problem with the 101 system that needs to be resolved and throughout the meeting, pointed out that he and fellow officers are doing their best for Ripon, often 'with their backs against the wall.'
Clllr McHardy said:
Police: meeting 'highlighted real challenges'
After the meeting, Insp Langley in an email to the Stray Ferret, said:
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