How many bobbies on the beat are there in the Harrogate district?Policing in Ripon comes under a barrage of firePolicing 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:
“How many people have been identified, arrested and prosecuted after being caught on city centre cctv or reported by somebody who has rung 101?”
When Insp Langley said he did not have that information, the taxi driver responded:
“It is clear to me that the CCTV cameras are not being monitored by anybody. In the past you could see the cameras moving, showing they were in use, but that doesn’t happen any more.”
City centre CCTV failings
The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Eamon Parkin asked:
“With the CCTV all around Market Square, why has nobody been arrested and prosecuted for any of the four attacks on the Cabmen’s Shelter?”
No arrests have been made or prosecutions brought against the vandal or vandals who have targeted the Cabmen’s Shelter
Insp Langley replied:
“You can have the best quality CCTV images, but if the vandals are wearing hoodies and have their faces covered — it’s difficult to identify them.
“The latest attack on the Cabmen’s Shelter was reported three days after the vandalism was noticed.
“Do you want officers to spend their time looking through three days’ of CCTV footage?”
There was a resounding response of ‘yes’ from the floor.
Cllr Pauline McHardy said:
“The shelter is a rare building that belongs to the city and was refurbished at a cost of £22,000 and we want to catch and prosecute the vandals”
Cllr Andrew Williams said:
“When charges were brought in by Harrogate Borough Council for parking on Market Square, the money raised was supposed to be used to pay for the CCTV cameras and monitoring, so what is happening with that money now?
“It looks as if the cameras covering Market Square are not fit for purpose and footage being captured by them is not being monitored.”
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:
“We are still awaiting a response from her and it is very disappointing to say the least that she is not in attendance tonight to hear the concerns raised by Ripon’s residents.”
Cllr Barbara Brodigan, who is newly-elected to serve on the North Yorkshire unitary authority as well as the city council, said:
“We were told by former commissioner Julia Mulligan that the money raised from selling the police station on North Street would be used to pay for more police officers, but there is no evidence of this and people are not receiving the high visibility policing that they want.”
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:
“When I rang up to report a gang of youths causing trouble near my house, I got no reply and after the same happened on another occasion, I just gave up, thinking that I was wasting my time.”
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:
“I’m sorry, but I have to stop you there. These statistics are flawed, by virtue of the fact that so many people who try to get through on 101 give up after being kept waiting for so long.
“Showing a graph like this and presenting it as fact, does not reflect the actual experience of thousands of people that I and other councillors were told about on the doorstep before the election.”
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:
“We appreciate you coming here tonight and answering our questions and would like to point out that comments made here are not aimed at you, but are for those senior to you who make the decisions and need to provide you with the resources that you need to do your job.
“There has been a sizeable increase in the precept that we pay through our council tax for policing in Ripon, but the commissioner is nowhere to be seen this evening to tell us what she is going to do to support you and your officers.”
Police: meeting ‘highlighted real challenges’
After the meeting, Insp Langley in an email to the Stray Ferret, said:
“It was a really good meeting and highlighted some of the real challenges that Ripon face. There is a real balance to be had around national type challenges and those wider issues such as 101, recruitment, funding and HBC CCTV that it’s really important that we discuss.
“Equally there is limited scope and control that I have on those topics but it’s good to discuss them.
“I hope at the next meeting that we can spend less time on those wider issues as we have discussed them and focus more on local Ripon issues. I would have liked to have focused more on the today problems and areas that I can direct my teams towards. The next meeting we should be able to get more into that level of detail and discuss other issues.”
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Vandals strike again in Ripon city centre
A rare building that is part of Ripon’s heritage has been damaged by vandals.
The cabmen’s shelter — a Grade II listed structure – dating back to the days of horse-drawn transport — was the target.
The shelter was recently refurbished and returned to Market Square at a cost of £22,000
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s enough to make you despair.
“We are doing our best to get ready for the easing of lockdown, by making the city more attractive for residents and visitors,
“Now we have suffered another mindless act of vandalism that detracts from all of our efforts.”
A window in the shelter was broken yesterday and Cllr Williams, along with the Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Eamon Parkin, carried out a sweep-up after being alerted to the incident.
The window was temporarily boarded up and the broken pane will be replaced shortly.
The broken window on the cabmen’s shelter. Photograph: Ripon City Council
Police have been informed and Cllr Williams said:
“I hope the person or persons who did this were picked up on CCTV cameras covering the square.”
Yards away from the shelter, a broken window at the Tourist Information Centre in Ripon Town Hall remains boarded up, after being vandalised in December.
The city council, which has responsibility for the upkeep of the cabmen’s shelter, is waiting for landlord Harrogate Borough Council to repair the Tourist Information Centre window.
There has been a spate of vandalism in Ripon during the covid lockdowns.
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Windows at premises including the Ripon Cathedral office, shops in Westgate and Fishergate and a public house in High Skellgate, have been smashed.
In recent weeks, police patrols, particularly at weekends, have been stepped up in a bid to tackle a rising tide of violent and anti-social activity.
City councillors have called for action on policing numbers and also said they will join forces with the police to crack down on crime in the city.
Mobile cameras to be used to reduce crime in RiponTwo mobile CCTV cameras are to be employed in the fight against crime in Ripon.
Additional police patrols in city crime hotspots have reduced tension in recent weeks after a spate of anti-social behaviour and violence.
But Ripon City Council is mindful that the recent high visible police presence is not likely to be maintained.
Councillors at last night’s virtual full council meeting agreed that cameras could play a role in helping tackle the problem.
City council leader Andrew Williams told the meeting that Harrogate Borough Council has mobile CCTV facilities that can be used in Ripon. The cameras can be attached to items such as lampposts and moved around as necessary. He said:
“We very much appreciate the stepping up of police patrols in the city, which have proved effective.
“However, in the longer-term maintaining the same level of policing on the streets is not sustainable and we need to provide the police with additional resources.”
Stuart Martin, who is also a district and county councillor, added he has approached North Yorkshire County Council to discuss the use of a mobile camera owned by the authority.
The devices would be additional to the fixed CCTV cameras used to watch over parts of the city, such as Market Square.
Bondgate in Ripon is one of the crime hotspots that may soon be covered by mobile CCTV.
Cllr Martin said:
“I have also spoken with the county highways team about the need to keep street lighting on in the areas where the mobile cameras are deployed, so that clear images can be captured.”
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It was agreed that the city council will liaise with North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council for advice on the best locations in Ripon for the mobile cameras.
This will enable them to be employed as both a deterrent and a means of identifying, arresting and prosecuting those involved in violent and anti-social behaviour.
Last year, Ripon councillors voted unanimously to join forces with the police to tackle crime in the city.
In February, North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner Julia Mulligan told a virtual meeting with councillors that the force had ‘taken its eye off the ball’ on policing in Ripon.
Earlier in the month, the Stray Ferret reported that residents were scared to go out on the city’s streets following a spate of violent and criminal activity in the Bondgate area.
Ripon council and police join forces to tackle anti-social behaviourCouncillors in Ripon are keen to join forces with North Yorkshire Police to tackle anti-social behaviour in the city.
All members who spoke at Monday’s virtual full meeting of the city council, welcomed the opportunity to work with Sergeant Clare Mayes and her colleagues to tackle bad behaviour and criminal activity.
Sgt. Mayes, who is responsible for neighbourhood policing in Ripon, presented an update report on anti-social, nuisance behaviour and reported crimes in the Minster, Spa and Moorside Wards.
Covering the period from 26 August to 22 November, her report showed that the city’s police, which has increased in number with the recent appointment of police community support officers (PCSOs) and other officers, has been dealing with ‘hotspots’ for anti-social behaviour.
These include Market Square, the old college site and parts of the Moorside ward.
Sgt. Mayes pointed out that Market Square remains the main area for anti-social and nuisance behaviour, including an incident on Halloween, when 17 youths were questioned by officers.
Ripon Market Square, where the city’s police have been tackling anti-social behaviour
She said:
“We wrote letters to parents warning that action would be taken if their children became involved in similar activity in the future. Thankfully, this approach appears to have done the trick.”
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Sgt. Mayes accepted an that 101 calls made to the police to report anti-social behaviour and criminal activity, can take up a lot of time, but said:
“I would just ask you to encourage members of the public to persevere with making calls, as each reported incident helps us in identifying issues and planning our approach.”
Responding to a request from Councillor Pauline McHardy, Sgt Mayes said that email and other contact details for officers assigned to police the Minster, Spa and Moorside wards, will be sent to town clerk Paula Benson for distribution to all 12 city councillors.
A working group meeting will also be arranged so that councillors and the police can discuss ways of combining forces to tackle anti-social behaviour and reduce crime.
Councillor Sid Hawke, who had his work van stolen from outside his home earlier this year, said:
“I look forward to the opportunity of working more closely with the police. We all have a part to play in keeping our city safe.”
Plans to increase the focus on tackling anti-social behaviour on the old college site, were also welcomed by Councillor Chris Davis, who pointed out:
“I live in the area and want to help the police in any way that I can.”
Do you live in Ripon and witness repeated anti-social behaviour? If so get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk
Offensive graffiti removed from wall near Ripon CathedralNorth Yorkshire Police are continuing to investigate an incident in which graffiti, including an expletive, was daubed on a wall across the road from Ripon Cathedral.
The offensive message targeting the Conservatives has now been removed after being reported to the police last Friday morning.
Harrogate Borough Council tweeted today that although the graffiti did not appear on council land, it had decided to remove it “given the language used”.
Police ask anybody who has information about the perpetrators to call 101 and quote the reference number 12200150072.
The wall is yards from the cathedral on Minster Road – one of the main traffic and pedestrian thoroughfares in Ripon.
The graffiti is another example of anti-social behaviour in the city.
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Other incidents include vandalised windows and fly-tipping.
Some of the anti-social acts have been carried out by children and earlier this year Ripon police called for parents to be more vigilant.
Sergeant Clare Mayes of North Yorkshire Police’s Ripon Neighbourhood Policing Team said:
“Parents, please take responsibility and find out where your children have been, what they’ve been up to and who they have been with – before you receive a knock on the door from a police officer.“
Many of the reports received by the police identify young people at the heart of the problems being experienced in the community.
Sergeant Mayes added:
“We all have a part to play in helping everyone to stay safe and feel safe in their homes and any behaviour which undermines this will be dealt with accordingly
“We are absolutely committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and will be doing everything we can to ensure our communities remain safe and pleasant places to live.”
She added:
“We know that lockdown has caused many of our community members to become isolated from their normal social groups and practices, but nothing excuses the unacceptable behaviour we have recently seen and had reported.”
Ripon Neighbourhood Policing Team says it is working with partner agencies to deal with incidents that are reported, but would urge the public to ensure reports are made by calling 101.