Hull & East Yorkshire: Keeping our parks safe and free from ASB

Chief Inspector Lee Edwards said: “With the warmer weather, we appreciate the importance of parks and other public spaces and we want to make sure that these are areas that people can come and enjoy safely.

“With another sunny day ahead of us today and also into the weekend, we have extra high visibility patrols across a number of parks and green spaces in Hull and East Yorkshire to deal with any issues quickly should they emerge.

“Patrols have been carried out over the last four weeks by our Operation Galaxy Teams in hot spot areas for offences, and this will continue with our Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) as well as patrol officers, who will be deployed to a number of different areas, speaking to and challenging anyone found behaving inappropriately or committing offences.

“We have received a report of teenagers gathering and behaving in an antisocial manner, and a report of a man being assaulted by teenagers following a verbal altercation on East Park in Hull, and our additional patrols will ensure anyone acting antisocially, or criminally, will be swiftly and efficiently dealt with.

“The impact that incidents of this nature have is detrimental to our local communities, and I want to be really clear that this type of behaviour is wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated.  

“Our NPTs teams are working very closely with the local authority and the park staff across the county to put long term sustainable measures in place to reduce incidents and prevent instances, but we also need our communities help.

“If you are a parent of a teenager, I would appeal to you to please ask them what they are doing, where they are going and who with.  Everyone has a personal responsibility to treat their environment and community with respect.

“It is also important to remember that there are still government guidelines in place to ensure the safety of the nation and reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. I encourage everyone to consider these guidelines and follow them to help keep our communities safe and well.

“I would ask if you have any information about offences being committed in your area, please call our non-emergency 101 number or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency always dial 999.”