This is the Lincolnshire Police press release that led to our piece on Tuesday complaining about how easy it is to see your town rubbished in the media. The original release appears in black type, with our line by line analysis and comments inserted in red.
Tackling ASB in Boston's Town Centre. Date: 9 April 2009
Boston's Neighbourhood Policing Team is sending out a warning to youngsters congregating in the town centre, (by issuing a press release on the Lincolnshire Police website) following an increase in complaints about anti-social behaviour (wouldn't it be interesting to know whether the "increase" was so great as to warrant this press release, and why if there was an "increase" nothing had been done about it before?)
The increase in activity is believed to be caused by the lighter evenings now the clocks have changed, generally mean (sic) there are more people around and more time for the youngsters to offend. (Is it not rather insulting automatically to equate extra time available to young people with the apparent truism that they should use it to offend. Incidentally, this sentence of the release is not written in English.)
The area worst affected is in Straitbargate (this is how the name appears, although there is no such place as "Straitbargate" in Boston. Perhaps our local police could be better acquainted with the names of our streets! To this end, the force could possibly devise a 'local nomenclature descriptive initiative' to help those heroes and heroines on the beat recognise intimately regional positional indicators - aka street signs) the pedestrianised part of the town. The young people, believed to be local and aged in their early to late teens have been verbally abusing visitors, shoppers and shop staff, kicking footballs around the area, cycling and generally being loud and inconsiderate to others. (So, if these offenders are at operating whilst visitors and shoppers are in the precinct, the move to British Summer Time has made no difference to their presence as they are not there in the lighter evenings after the shops have closed.)
In a bid to put a stop to this unacceptable behaviour, the town's Neighbourhood Policing Team is stepping up patrols in the area and asking parents and relatives to play their part in the crackdown. (You cannot "step up" something that does not exist! Police team patrols are seldom if ever seen in "Straitbargate.")
PC Martyn Chambers who is Community Beat Manager for the town said, "We need parents and relatives to ask themselves if they know where their children are and, just as importantly, what they are doing? Although the majority of our local young people are by far, well behaved, there are some who insist on causing a real nuisance with stupid, thoughtless and inconsiderate behaviour," he said. (How does the fact that a parent knows where its child is change matters? Some of these acts of "stupid, thoughtless and inconsiderate behaviour" involve children kicking footballs, cycling, and generally being loud. This was once known as playing, Constable Chambers.)
As part of the latest crackdown, (so what exactly does the rest of it involve, then?) any reports of anti-social behaviour in the town will be investigated (we thought that this was what the police were supposed to do anyway) and enquiries carried out to identify those responsible (see our previous comment!).
The outcome of those investigations will be the use of unacceptable behaviour warning letters to the parents of individuals responsible for causing a nuisance.
If advice is ignored it is likely an Anti-social Behaviour Contract will be drawn up, again with parents being involved.
If this fails to address the behaviour then the process of applying for an Anti-social Behaviour Order will commence.
In addition footballs being kicked in the shopping area will be seized and anyone cycling in the pedestrianised area will be issued a £30 Fixed Penalty Ticket. (The police in Boston NEVER, NEVER issue tickets to cyclists. This statement is just a simple untruth.)
"Causing a nuisance might not seem serious to those responsible, but in policing terms it can be a criminal offence and if this is the case, we will deal robustly with those responsible," explained PC Chambers.
PC Chambers finished by warning, "If unacceptable behaviour is brought to our attention by members of the public, shop staff, security staff and the town rangers, then we will take action." (We are placing ourselves at the end of the list ... as far as possible away from the risk of any real work. In the event that the trouble does not stop of its own accord, we can then blame the public for failing to work with us in the unceasing battle against boys kicking a football around in the street.)
In order to assist officers policing the town centre, anyone witnessing individuals involved in anti-social behaviour in the area should report it to Boston's Neighbourhood Policing Team by calling Boston Police Station on 01205 366222. (Only in these circumstance might they then consider leaving the building and doing something.) Anyone with information about those involved in causing a nuisance in the Straitbargate area of the town is also asked to call the police. (Dunno about you, but we'd call them useless!)
Tackling ASB in Boston's Town Centre. Date: 9 April 2009
Boston's Neighbourhood Policing Team is sending out a warning to youngsters congregating in the town centre, (by issuing a press release on the Lincolnshire Police website) following an increase in complaints about anti-social behaviour (wouldn't it be interesting to know whether the "increase" was so great as to warrant this press release, and why if there was an "increase" nothing had been done about it before?)
The increase in activity is believed to be caused by the lighter evenings now the clocks have changed, generally mean (sic) there are more people around and more time for the youngsters to offend. (Is it not rather insulting automatically to equate extra time available to young people with the apparent truism that they should use it to offend. Incidentally, this sentence of the release is not written in English.)
The area worst affected is in Straitbargate (this is how the name appears, although there is no such place as "Straitbargate" in Boston. Perhaps our local police could be better acquainted with the names of our streets! To this end, the force could possibly devise a 'local nomenclature descriptive initiative' to help those heroes and heroines on the beat recognise intimately regional positional indicators - aka street signs) the pedestrianised part of the town. The young people, believed to be local and aged in their early to late teens have been verbally abusing visitors, shoppers and shop staff, kicking footballs around the area, cycling and generally being loud and inconsiderate to others. (So, if these offenders are at operating whilst visitors and shoppers are in the precinct, the move to British Summer Time has made no difference to their presence as they are not there in the lighter evenings after the shops have closed.)
In a bid to put a stop to this unacceptable behaviour, the town's Neighbourhood Policing Team is stepping up patrols in the area and asking parents and relatives to play their part in the crackdown. (You cannot "step up" something that does not exist! Police team patrols are seldom if ever seen in "Straitbargate.")
PC Martyn Chambers who is Community Beat Manager for the town said, "We need parents and relatives to ask themselves if they know where their children are and, just as importantly, what they are doing? Although the majority of our local young people are by far, well behaved, there are some who insist on causing a real nuisance with stupid, thoughtless and inconsiderate behaviour," he said. (How does the fact that a parent knows where its child is change matters? Some of these acts of "stupid, thoughtless and inconsiderate behaviour" involve children kicking footballs, cycling, and generally being loud. This was once known as playing, Constable Chambers.)
As part of the latest crackdown, (so what exactly does the rest of it involve, then?) any reports of anti-social behaviour in the town will be investigated (we thought that this was what the police were supposed to do anyway) and enquiries carried out to identify those responsible (see our previous comment!).
The outcome of those investigations will be the use of unacceptable behaviour warning letters to the parents of individuals responsible for causing a nuisance.
If advice is ignored it is likely an Anti-social Behaviour Contract will be drawn up, again with parents being involved.
If this fails to address the behaviour then the process of applying for an Anti-social Behaviour Order will commence.
In addition footballs being kicked in the shopping area will be seized and anyone cycling in the pedestrianised area will be issued a £30 Fixed Penalty Ticket. (The police in Boston NEVER, NEVER issue tickets to cyclists. This statement is just a simple untruth.)
"Causing a nuisance might not seem serious to those responsible, but in policing terms it can be a criminal offence and if this is the case, we will deal robustly with those responsible," explained PC Chambers.
PC Chambers finished by warning, "If unacceptable behaviour is brought to our attention by members of the public, shop staff, security staff and the town rangers, then we will take action." (We are placing ourselves at the end of the list ... as far as possible away from the risk of any real work. In the event that the trouble does not stop of its own accord, we can then blame the public for failing to work with us in the unceasing battle against boys kicking a football around in the street.)
In order to assist officers policing the town centre, anyone witnessing individuals involved in anti-social behaviour in the area should report it to Boston's Neighbourhood Policing Team by calling Boston Police Station on 01205 366222. (Only in these circumstance might they then consider leaving the building and doing something.) Anyone with information about those involved in causing a nuisance in the Straitbargate area of the town is also asked to call the police. (Dunno about you, but we'd call them useless!)
Boston Eye says: This is policing at its worst, launching a press release on the internet that exaggerates the level of crime, dodges responsibility and blackguards groups of people - most of whom are doing nothing wrong. And they call it Policing with PRIDE: Professionalism Respect Integrity Dedication Empathy. We don't recognise a single one of those adjectives in the press release above!
Is there no-one in authority prepared to stand up to these ninnies in blue and tell them to get up off their backsides and out on the streets to do the jobs they are well paid for rather than just issuing press releases from the comfort of their offices and calling it policing?
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Is there no-one in authority prepared to stand up to these ninnies in blue and tell them to get up off their backsides and out on the streets to do the jobs they are well paid for rather than just issuing press releases from the comfort of their offices and calling it policing?
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
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