Anti-Social behaviour is the number one concern among residents of Wollaston & Stourbridge Town.
13th August 2007
People out walking the canal route are abused by groups of young people who vandalise property and hurl bricks on to boats according to the Canal Trust. The nearby Mere Centre for people with learning disabilities has complained to police about abuse, graffiti and criminal damage on many occasions over the last year. Groups of young people gather on street corners around the Kent Road area, drinking and intimidating passers by.
Margot James is meeting police and council officials to discuss how best to use ASBOs, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Controlled Drinking Zones and Parenting Orders to clamp down on the ringleaders of these groups. Margot says "Most young people are doing well in work or at college but a minority are hanging around our streets and our parks drinking and taking drugs. Graffiti, abuse, arson even are the result of this lack of focus in their lives. I am all for programmes that provide for more opportunities for these young people to have a better life but in the meantime we need more police and better protection from the courts to prevent them from ruining law abiding people's quality of life".
On Monday 13th August Margot re-launches her website www.margotjames.com with a survey on Anti-Social Behaviour - What should be done?
