UK & World News
- 16 June 2012, 13:59
Children Banned From City Centre At Night
Children under 16 have been banned from going into a city centre in North Wales at night in a bid to crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
The move in Bangor, Gwynedd, means under-16s who are not accompanied by an adult are barred from the streets from 9pm to 6am.
North Wales Police and Gwynedd County Council took the controversial step after complaints about groups drinking alcohol on the streets and harassing residents.
Police inspector Simon Barrasford said: "Dispersal orders have proved an effective weapon against anti-social behaviour in other parts of the force and can demonstrate how partnership working can be most effective.
"Many people are working very hard to improve and regenerate the city centre as well as just wanting to enjoy their daily lives without being intimidated or harassed and I have no doubt dispersal orders areas will assist in that endeavour.
"Drinking in public has an adverse effect not only on visitors' perception but also on the quality of life of residents. Working closely with our partners in the local authorities I'm confident that we can have a positive impact on the area."
The ban - the first time one has been brought in in a Welsh City - is scheduled to last six months.
It gives police (including police community support officers) powers to order groups of two or more to leave the area and failure to comply could lead to up to three months imprisonment and or a fine of up to £2,500.
Nick Pickles, director of civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: "The idea you could be fined or imprisoned for walking through the town centre simply because you are 15 and not accompanied by a parent is simply madness.
"To say that any under-16-year-old who is unaccompanied between 9pm and 6am isa criminal is the kind of draconian law you'd expect in North Korea, not North Wales.
"Criminalising every young person in Bangor - without any need for them to be engaged in any wrongdoing - is an unwarranted and disproportionate intrusion onto the civil liberties of thousands of perfectly law abiding young people."
what do you think?
Andy Sunderland
Good decision children should be at home at night not out drinking simple isn't it
Phylip de la Maziere
Great news should be across the whole country keep the "little darlings" in a cage
Michael Mcardle
whats happening to freedom and democracy ih this country. what right have anyone to ban people from public places. what next/ curfews . detention. we are sharp becoming a police state. no wonder you have teenagers rebelling. more power to the people.
Paul Walsh
How about the rights of other people to go about their business without being abused by a drunk, out of control 15 or 16 year old! How about protecting the rights of the majority of individuals over the rights of some idiot protagonists?
Chris Willin
This comment has been removed for violations of our Terms and Conditions.
Dave Harrison
Michael. Fair point concerning freedoms etc. This is the response you get from a country which has so many problems with disorder & lawlessness and has absolutely no idea how to solve them
MichaelStinton
What right does anyone have to create a nuisance in a public place?
Oliver McEvoy
It has very little to do with democracy if you are of an age when you are legally unable to vote, discipline is not a violation of anybody's rights, but a tool which if used in the correct manner helps young people to become responsible adults & by the way rebellion can be good if it leads to a better society in gemeral, but not good if it leads to destruction of the fabric which enhances society.
john lonsdale
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Kenny Turner
Wow! Michael Mcardle - you have the most negative thumbs-down I've ever seen on this facility! Minus 13 Gee, Michael, nobody in the whole world agrees with you.
Howard Kingsbury
Good point Mcardle. Until you yourself are "done over" by a bunch of vandals for "kicks". Now that would be really "grea' ".
Stephen Bayley
good idea children shouldnt be out on the streets drinking in any case, where are the parents when all this is going on, i know exactly where my kids are and are set to a time to when they are to be home, its called discipline and respect for each other, half the time the parents couldnt care less about what they are doing .
numerouno
while they are busy pointing they finger at other societies the broken western society not to mention usa continue they moral and family breakdown.Teenagers getting pregnant,fatherless children,communities breaking down,parents not taking responsibility for their kids.Media lead society with no values.Maybe the parents are too busy in the pub
Name witheld
This comment has been removed for violations of our Terms and Conditions.
numerouno
while they are busy pointing they finger at other societies the broken western society not to mention usa continue they moral and family breakdown.Teenagers getting pregnant,fatherless children,communities breaking down,parents not taking responsibility for their kids.Media lead society with no values.Maybe the parents are too busy in the pub
Oliver McEvoy
A couple of sensible cops on foot patrol backed up by effective organisation and communication complete with powers to arrest would be far more useful than bits of meaningless paper and vacuous threats.
Alex O'Dwyer
If you have ever lived in Bangor or Caernarfon you will understand why this is long overdue. I can think back 20 years and it was the same, gangs of kids drinking and fighting openly in the streets. Anyone remember the baseball bat gangs of the 90's in Caernarfon???? Gangs of kids going our with the express purpose of beating people up with bats......... I can't imagine either Bangor or Caernarfon are any better today.
Bob Mark
banning wont stop the problem it just moves it.
Alex O'Dwyer
Best we just let them get on with it then ehhh Fact is, a lot of people who have children aren't fit to look after them. We need to encourage (stop) them from having them in the first place. Sadly, as long as the government keeps handling out baby bonuses for every kid you have, the wrong people will keep having them.
Bob Mark
First they came for the jews then they came for the blacks now they come for the youth. Would have thought the town centre was the best place to have them given all the big brother cctv cameras that are there. As the article says its more about the image of the town centre which if you have seen Bangor town centre it needs a lot more to improve its image than banning kids. What this means is that a couple of your children who have gone to local baths on a summers evening wont be able to walk home for fear of getting arrested. I see now---- lets give them all ID cards to prove age. Given the size of bangor this should affect about 10 kids
Chris Willin
A cynical response from someone who would undoubtedly by enraged if he was attacked.
Steve Pickering
They will say "becouse weve got nothing else to do" well at night you should be at home not on the streets, yes what are the parents doing? down the pub.
cejenas
This is a good beginning ..my idea is why no take this treble makers out side the city and make them work hard in a farm and learn values or what good people had to do to improve the lives or this idiots families ...it work in USA in the 60s.dcpline its what they need...make them clean their own mess ....
Alan Todd
Any one who has been on the wrong end of this behaviour would wecome this action.All of this kind of behaviour goes back to the do gooders who said that parents should not smack children when doing wrong.Also bring back local policemen who knew who the trouble makers were and kept a watch on them to stop bad behaviour..
Philip Alderson
This says more about the ineptitude our police & politicians than it does about the bad behaviour of our kids. The kids have right to be there and its a right the police and the council do not have the power to take away from them.The politicians are picking an easy target so it looks as if they are doing something to solve the problem, when as usual, they are doing SFA.
Chris Willin
And you would like the police to use 'what' powers against them exactly? They have been given none against those youths who need tackling the most!
Adrian Wagstaff
My mum always told me about how anti-social all her childhood friends were during World War 2. They used to, for instance, run up their street knocking dustbins over and worse things than that. I think society is probably as anti-social and violent as it's ever been and possibly ever will be.
Annette Oakes
What a sad reflection on Britain today.. give the youth something to occupy them.. they need to have something to look forward to.. a job they would like to do not some job that a trained monkey could do.. we need to break this chain some of the kids have known nothing but benefits all their young life.. give them some hope and pride in themselves instead of this negative attitude.. shame on all our politicians..
Chris Willin
As opposed to 50 years ago when the kids had what to do? Oh right, that's correct, less than now...
stuart walmsley
"Wot you inside for mate" "I got three months for walking in the city center after the curfew"
Jan Smith
tho this may stop people being annoyed more use would be if parents were parents instead of slaves 2 their kids and brought back discipline in the home! my mother used 2 say 2 me, u might hate me just now, but u'll thank me and love me when ur older, and she's right!
Baker101
Well let's face it, there won't any "children" who this will affect. It's teengers, and a particular type of them that like to cause trouble. They shouldn't be hanging around the streets at that time of night anyway!
Tracey Walker
If the parents were made responsible financially for their kids behaviour and the imposed penalties were strongly enforced then parents might do something about it. I do believe that the wearing of hoodies or the like to cover their faces against the cctv should be banned with a street fine so their mates would witness loss of face instead of swaggering. The problem of the burkha then arises though but as this is our country and our laws it definitely shouldnt be a problem..I also believe that police cautions/warnings educate the ferral kids about nothing happening to them until they do something very serious and should be done away with.
marc H
6:16am on 16/6/2012
Police disperse gangs who then go to another venue and meet up again. As much as I hate saying it, the Yanks have the best answer. BAN drinking in any outdoor public place. If caught, the drink is confiscated. ppl wont wanna see their booze being poured away and will soon get the message.
Michael Mcardle
8:34am on 16/6/2012
dont be silly marc they will just go elswhere to drink and then return to public places better off banning all these corner shops who sell drink to anyone whatever there age
numerouno
9:05am on 16/6/2012
while they are busy pointing they finger at other societies the broken western society not to mention usa continue they moral and family breakdown.Teenagers getting pregnant,fatherless children,communities breaking down,parents not taking responsibility for their kids.Media lead society with no values.Maybe the parents are too busy in the pub
Adj Jackson
9:55am on 16/6/2012
@ numerouno!!! Its not that the parents are in the pub its society has a whole that has stamped on any sort of punishment for children be it from home school or the courts so basically kids have little or no respect for anyone