South Yorkshire Safer Neighbourhood Teams

• The officers responsible for the areas which have been mentioned as of particular concern, will be checking records to try to establish patterns in relation to these incidents.
• We would be extremely grateful if you inform us of any such incident by contacting us via the website's email or by phoning 2202020 or 101.
• Any information which you have about this can be passed anonymously to crimestoppers, either freephone on 0800 555 111 or on the website www.Crimestoppers-uk.org

This will help us direct resources in order to tackle the problem. Will will update you as we put measures in place.

Update 29th October:

• We have had an increased volume of patrols in these areas, both by Police Officers and Community Support Officers.
• We have been checking reported incidents, in order to establish if if there has been a recent increase or not. The figures for the past six months show a decrease in vehocle crime of 50% when compared to the same six month period last year.

Update 5th November:

• Police Community Support Officers have continued to patrol the areas mentioned, checking vehicles and completing forms to advise drivers who have left valuable items on display.

Update 13th November

• Since the last update over 70 vulnerable vehicle forms have been completed, advising owners of the risk of leaving items on display in their vehicles.
• An individual has been arrested in relation to damage to vehicle and has been implicated in a number of offences.

Your next PACT meeting is on 27th April 6:30pm at The Quaker Meeting House, St James Road.

• Licensing officers within the SNA are going to be visiting and working with some of the bars and clubs, especially focusing on mid-week activities.
• Test purchasing operations are being planned in relation to bars and clubs, in order to ensure that customers are not being admitted or served when drunk.
• We will ensure that there is a more visible police presence on the streets in the evenings mid-week.

Update 29th October:

• We have increased the number of officers working shifts through the late evening and night, on high visibility patrols in vans and also on foot.
• 4 people have been arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour on week nights since this priority was set.
• Licensing officers have begun to attend at bars and nightclubs wearing head-cameras, in order to gather evidence of excessive drunkeness or disorder, which can then be used as evidence in proceedings to review the licenses of those venues.

Update 13th November

• 22 arrests for drunk & disorderly have been made in the last month.
• Officers have visited a number of premises which we have received specific complaints about noise and anti-social behaviour.

Update 24th November

• This issue was renewed as a PACT priority.
• We told the PACT meeting of a new pilot scheme in Sheffield City Centre aimed at the increased use of Fixed Penalty Tickets, which impose an £80 fine on disorderly drinkers. They will be served along with a form giving a legally enforceable direction to leave the area for the night. The aim of this is to catch people at the start of the night, before they go on to cause bigger problems later on.
• We are planning to extend the current public order policing strategy for the city centre from just Friday and Saturday nights to also include thursday and Sunday nights. This will lead to an increased number of highly visible, dedicated officers on the streets at the times you want to see them there.

Update 11th December

• Officers have been on duty at during the week for the last fortnight. In that time 21 individuals have been dealt with for drunk & disorderly, most by means of a penalty ticket. A further 8 people have been fined £80 for urinating in public and another four people have been arrested for alcohol-related offences.
• Officers continue to liaise closely with licensed premises and monitor any emerging issues at specific locations.

Update 16th December

• At the Pact Meeting on 15th December we agreed to keep mid week drinking as a priority due to the busy festive period and operations that we have already planned to carry out in response to your concerns.
• We will continue to update you regularly on our progress.

Update 6th January

• Over the festive season safer neighbourhood officers have been working from 3pm to 3am to tackle drunken and disorderly behaviour.
• PCSOs have worked with officers to engage with party-goers, offer advice and identify individuals who may have presented problems later due to the amount of drink they had consumed.
• Where necessary officers used powers to force drunk individuals to leave the city centre and not return within 24 hours to prevent them from commiting crime or anti-social behaviour.
• In total the operation to tackle rowdy drinkers resulted in 85 prisoners and over 100 fixed penalty notices being issued.
• Both members of the public and licensees have fedback positively on the early interventions taken by officers which has resulted in a dramatic drop in violent crime when compared to the same time last year.

Update 19th January

• At the PACT meeting we discussed how working practices had changed as a result of you raising mid-week drinking as an issue. Safer neighbourhood staff will be routinely working late during the week to tackle this matter. We suggested that in light of the work we had carried out that this no longer needed to be a PACT priority. You agreed to this but we gave assurances that we would regularly feed back on results.

Your next PACT meeting is on 19th January, 6:30pm at The Quaker Meeting House, St James Road.

• We planned an operation to deal with the students' return, with extra Police officers and PCSOs on duty, meeting and greeting students to advise them about their behaviour.
• This message was reinforced through the student unions.
• We worked closely with organisers of several large pub crawl events to make sure they wereproperly marshalled and caused as little disruption as possible.
• Information has been distributed to students regarding the alcohol exclusion zone.
• Information has also been distributed to students about 'green routes', which are designated safe routes to walk into and out of the city centre on main roads.

Update 25th September:

• Four arrests were made due to drunken and disorderly behaviour during freshers week.
• 198 cans and bottles were confiscated within the alcohol exclusion zone from students, and fines have been issued when people have not handed the alcohol over.
• We searched five individuals in relation to incidents.
• We have put posters up in off-licences to show where the alcohol exclusion zone covers.
• Officers from the safer neighbourhood team have spoken with 394 students in Barkers Pool, offering them safety advice.
• A 'meet and greet' scheme has taken place where 256 students have completed surveys.
• PCSOs have attended Sheffield Hallam University to offer advice about drinking sensibly, getting home safe and protecting themselves from crime.

Update 29th September:

• A large pubcrawl event on Sunday 27th, involving close to 2000 students from both universities, passed without incident. Officers worked extra hours to show a high visibility presence, and to help, direct and control the students. All the students behaved well and no arrests or police actions were needed.
• A further 126 bottles and cans were taken off people drinking in the streets.
• A small number of individuals were asked to disperse from the city centre over the weekend due to anti-social behaviour related to alcohol. Police officers used powers to ask those involved to move away from the area and not return within 24 hours.
• Officers in the mobile police station, placed in Barkers Pool for the duration of freshers week, were on hand to give firsta aid to a female who collapsed with heart problems.

Update 7th October:

• Officers and Community Support Officers have continued to speak to students and give them crime prevention advice and also guidance about behaviour, and this advice has been accepted and followed.
• One student was stopped and searched for a small quantity of cannabis, receiving a caution for it.
• Plans are underway for the forthcoming 'Carnage' event on Sunday 11th October.
• So far a total of 1055 students have been spoken to and given help and advice.
• 598 surveys have now been completed by students new to Sheffield, which are being used to help us plan for future events and to offer help and advice where needed.

Update 15th October:

• Following the disgraceful incident at the 'Carnage' branded event at the weekend, one male  was traced quickly once officers became aware of the incident. He was arrested and charged with Outraging Public Decency.
• However, it should be noted that this was the only arrest that came from the event, which passed without any other incident.

Update 21st October:  

• Following last night's meeting, this issue has been renewed as a PACT policing priority for the next month.

Update 26th October:

• Sunday 25th October saw a return of the 'Carnage' branded pub crawl. We provided a heavy police presence on the streets and in Barkers Pool. The early stages of the event passed without incident, but 5 students were arrested at the end of the night, for separate incidents of drunken behaviour.
• We are about to start discussions with both universities to ensure that we work together more effectively when students are arrested or cause disorder.

Update 4th November:

• The student who was arrested by police following the 'Carnage' event, has now been found guilty of Outraging Public Decency at court. To read the press report of this follow the link below

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/breaking-student-guilty-of-outraging.5794420.jp

• Officers have held further meetings with the student unions for both of Sheffield's universities, looking at ways to more effectively integrate the student population of the city with the permanent residents.

Update 13th November

• The negative media coverage of students as a result of the poor conduct of a few individuals has had an effect on the public's attittude towards students. To counter this students participated in over twenty events as part of a week to highlight the positive contributions students make to Sheffield. The week was well received by members of the public who watched the events.

Your next PACT meeting is on 24th November 6:30pm at The Circle, Rockingham Lane. If you don't know where the meetings are held please you the link below:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=Rockingham+Ln,+Sheffield,+South+Yorkshire+S1,+United+Kingdom&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FWyDLgMd-H_p_w&split=0&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=6.881357,14.941406&ll=53.380308,-1.47456&spn=0.0048,0.009624&z=17

We sent plain clothes officers out on foot in the city centre and achieved the following:

1 street drinker arrested for Drunk & Disorderly

9 other street drinkers had lager, vodka and white lightening confiscated. The details of all of these individuals will be forwarded to the district ASBO Unit with a view to obtaining Orders should they persist.

Throughout the city in general and around the Cathedral in particular, our staff are targeting persistant offenders to obtain evidence to justify the implementation of ASBO,s where appropriate. Confiscation of alcohol is ongoing , on Tuesday 30th June around the Cathedral 11 cans of lager,8 litres of cider, and 2 bottles of wine were confiscated.

19th May - We have met with the warden and residents here and put a plan in place to begin to address the issues, and to reassure the residents of our support.

Residents have been reminded that 0114 2202020 and 999 are entirely appropriate ways to contact us in certain circumstances. They have been issued with diaries to record incidents of anti-social behaviour and extra patrols are planned for the premises. All SNT officers now have the door code to get in and check the corridoors and bathrooms.

16th June

After 4 weeks we are pleased to say that incidents here have pretty much stopped. We have made two arrests early on, and PCSOs altering their shifts to cover the key times here and pro-actively patrolling and visiting the complex has had a very positive effect.

At the PACT meeting tonight this has been removed as one of the priorities. The dedicated Ambassador, PCSO and PC for this area will continue to work closely with staff and residents here to prevent this from becoming a gathering point again.

We will direct SNT staff to patrol these areas regularly, identify and deal with beggars in these locations. The Neighbourhood Patrol Groups (NPGs) will be updated with these priorities this week.

16th June - We are not seeing beggars on the street to any great extent, in fact they are now particularly noticable when they are in the city centre as something of a rarity. That said, we have agreed at today's PACT meeting to keep this as a priority at the moment. At the time of writing we have a man in custody, being processed, for begging on High Street (in breach of his ASBO as well by doing so).

19th May - This area has been subject of regular patrols and checks throughout the last PACT period, but you have asked us to maintain regular patrols here to prevent the area from becoming a favourite gathering ground again.

The City Centre SNT are all aware of this, and over the next few days all of the City Centre Neighbourhood Patrol Groups (NPGs) will be updated.

16th June Update - This has been retained today as a PACT priority. Our staff continue to deal with street drinkers, though it has been noticed that while they are still present in the city centre, they are not drinking openly as often. We continue to work closely with the Archer Project and are currently investigating, with the Primary Care Trust, the feasibility and desirability of a Wet Centre for the street drinkers as part of a longer term solution.

22 April 2009 - officers patrolled in the area talking to the street drinkers and moved them from the area. Trams boarded and travelled to the West Street area - no problems reported.

23 April 2009 - patrolling officers from the City Centre Safer Neighbourhood team confiscated alcohol from 2 females and moved them away from the area.

24 April 2009 - Community support officers will be carrying out visits to businesses around the cathedral to establish the impact street drinkers are having on the area.

Throughout April the Community Support officers made 61 seizures of alcohol from the Street Drinkers.

May 8th - The Cathedral and the tram stop have now been subject to patrols at least three times a day since this priority was agreed. It is checked each day at 09.15, 10.30 and midday, as well as other times throughout the day. It is the default route for officers and PCSOs walking to either West Bar, Bridge Street Cells or Police HQ on Snig Hill, ensuring it is checked regularly.

The first week saw drinkers being spoken to and having their alcohol taken off them daily. In the second week the drinkers were leaving at the first glimpse of a uniform and not returning, leaving their associates to be spoken to. Into the third week now and it is noticable that they have moved on from the area. Foot patrols have moved from there to check behind the cathedral, and onto the gardens at Barkers Pool, but they are still noticeable by their absence.

May 11th- The Cathedral ans surrounding streets were checked several times throughout the day by various officers and PCSOs, No drinkers here at all.

May 12th - As part of the Reassurance & Visibility day in the City Centre we have had a mobile information van parked on the Cathedral frontage throughout the day...did you visit? 

May 13th - PCSO Mike Matthews amongst others has spent a large part of today lapping the city by bike, visiting the PACT priority areas. No drinkers found on here today, though the City Ambassadors tell us there were several in the middle of the day that left quickly when they were spotted.

May 18th - Regular patrols thoughout the weekend. The weekend public order patrols staffed by Neighbourhood Patrol Group officers, and a van staffed by officers from this team, patrolled the city centre in van and on foot throughout Friday and Saturday evening. No drinkers in this particular location though 2 people were arrested on Friday night for being drunk and disorderly after being found urinating in the street.

The Cathedral was checked again at 11.00am this morning, and was patrolled throughout Saturday daytime by PCs Simon Nolan and Clive Tyree on bikes.

The next Partners and Communities Together meeting will be incorporated into the City Centre Forum on Tuesday 19th May.

23 April 2009 - officers from the City Centre Safer Neigbourhood team patrolled in the area - no obvious problems.

This is currently a default route for SNT staff travelling on West Street, who will perform a detour onto Gell Street to check the area and provide a visible presence. Checked at least twice a day at varying times at the moment, no drinkers have been found so far. (updated 8th May)

12th May - This area has been patrolled throughout the day as part of the City Centre Reassurance & Visibility day. No drinkers found in the park, the patrols on foot and bike have extended throughout the Headford/Broom estate.

13th May - A number of patrols on here today, while we would be delighted not to find anyone drinking there, persistence paid off at 4.00pm when PCSO Mike Matthews found two street drinkers, alcohol taken from them and encouraged out of the area.

May 18th - Regular patrols thoughout the weekend. The weekend public order patrols staffed by Neighbourhood Patrol Group officers, and a van staffed by officers from this team, patrolled the city centre in van and on foot throughout Friday and Saturday evening. No drinkers in this particular location though 2 people were arrested on Friday night for being drunk and disorderly after being found urinating in the street.

The SNT public order van searched a group of three men on Victoria Street on Friday night who had travelled from Bolton to visit the city and chosen this as a quiet parking spot before heading into the city. While nothing was found, they were all of interest to us, so when they were ejected from a city centre club at midnight, the team sprang into action to make sure they did not gain entry anywhere else, passing information to partners in licensed premises and watching them try one club after another and fail. We will not tolerate people who travel to the city only to engage in drunken, disorderly behaviour.

The next Partners and Communities Together meeting will be incorporated into the City Centre Forum on Tuesday 19th May