Durham County Council is considering introducing Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) in Seaham to tackle antisocial behaviour, including youths in balaclavas riding e-bikes, boxing on the beach and drug taking on the high street. The seaside town is one of seven places where the orders are being considered, allowing the local authority to restrict or ban specific activities.
Proposals include measures against wearing face coverings, such as a balaclava, to conceal a person's identity while committing antisocial behaviour. It would not apply to coverings worn for religious, cultural and medical reasons.
Councillor reports rising antisocial behaviour
Seaham Councillor Chris Fairs told ChronicleLive that antisocial behaviour in the town has increased over the past 12 months. He said he has been working with police for around six months in an attempt to get a protection order put in place.
Chris said: "I think this is a logical step and it would be negligent not to do it. We need to put this in to help the police to get on top of some of the issues we have got."
"We have issues with youths and we have had issues with adults under the influence or alcohol and drugs. We had a recent meeting and people are getting frustrated."
The Reform councillor said there has been antisocial behaviour, linked to drugs and alcohol, on Church Street - the town's main shopping street. He said there was also disorder at the Marina during a bank holiday in May.
Incidents at the Marina and Church Street
Chris said: "Seaham is quite a big place and we have a lot of tourists. A lot of them see Tommy and the Marina. We have got big issues in Seaham that are spilling into some of those places like Church Street and the Marina.
"We had a bank holiday earlier in the year and there was a lot of really bad behaviour. We had a large number of youths behaving really badly. We had a group of youths boxing on the beach, being rowdy and drinking."
"The police said it was the worst they had seen. We only had two female police officers on duty that day in particular and they were overwhelmed. We need to put this in to protect the police and the public."
"It's not a silver bullet. It's not going to solve all of Seaham's issues but it's a help."
Support for balaclava restrictions
Chris is also supporting the possible restriction on balaclavas and face coverings. He said: "There's more e-bikes and people riding around in balaclavas and face coverings. I think it's increased over the course of the last couple of years as e-bikes are getting cheaper."
"We also have some unfortunately transporting drugs and using a balaclava to disguise themselves. We have got kids on scramblers, motorbikes, in fields and they're wearing them so they don't get caught."
"They're not all doing that. There's kids that are just going down the play park with them."
"I think if we've got youths riding around on bikes and disguising themselves because they don't want to be caught on camera then measures to stop that, I think, are fine."
"Sometimes people think there isn't something for kids to go but we have got three cadet associations, three youth centres and we have got numerous other youth clubs and play parks."
Chris said he has already supported, along with other local councillors, the funding of a police drone. Officers in the town now have their own drone which they can use to help them investigate.
He said: "Seaham has got it's own drone. We funded the drone for the police. It can be used for whatever they want. It could be antisocial behaviour, e-bikes or someone vulnerable who is missing near the beach."
Next steps for consultation
The PSPOs aim to address antisocial behaviour including loitering, littering and graffiti, foul or abusive language, intimidating behaviour, alcohol or substance misuse, urinating in public places and nuisance electric bikes and scooters. The orders will allow the council and Durham Constabulary to take more immediate enforcement action through Fixed Penalty Notices.
Next week, Cabinet will be asked to agree to a full consultation exercise which will gather public opinion. If agreed, a consultation will launch at the end of October and run for six weeks.
Chris said he is pleased that Seaham is one of the towns included in the proposal. He added: "After the disorder at the marina over the Bank Holiday weekend, which officers described as the worst they had seen locally in years, residents were rightly concerned about how safe they feel in our town."
"I have been working with the Council and Durham Constabulary since then on the measures and areas a PSPO could cover, so it is good to see this moving forward. These powers would let the council and police deal with problems much more quickly, and I would encourage residents to take part once the consultation opens once they are hopefully confirmed."
