Wednesday 25 March 2009

IMPROVING COMMUNITY SAFETY IN NEWINGTON

Thanet district Council press release

Leaflets are being distributed to some parts of Ramsgate, detailing the nine interim ASBOs in force against people believed to be responsible for numerous acts of anti-social behaviour in Newington.

It comes after dates were fixed for their trial, which will be taking place over five days on Thursday 21, Thursday 28 and Friday 29 May and Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June in Folkestone. Solicitor, Ms Esther Pounder will be representing the council and eight of the respondents, who all live in Ramsgate, have legal representation.

The interim ASBOs were granted in December 2008, following a civil case brought by the Thanet District Council and supported by Kent Police, on behalf of the Thanet Community Safety Partnership. These orders, which carry the same weight as full orders, remain in force until Sunday 7 June and will become a criminal offence if they are breached.

The orders mean that they cannot congregate together in groups of more than three or go near any of the witnesses in the case. Insulting or offensive behaviour, throwing items or behaviour likely to cause harassment are also covered by the interim orders.

The leaflets, which will be distributed this weekend (Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March) by Community Payback, remind people of the details of the interim ASBOs and who they apply to. If anyone sees any of the group breaching any conditions of the orders, they need to contact the police on 01843 231055.

Acting Chief Inspector Terry Chuter said of the interim orders: ''These send a clear message to the small minority who think they are above the law and make people's lives a misery that we, as a community, will not tolerate behaviour like this. There has been a real partnership approach to tackling the trouble makers on the estate. The work of the council's community wardens, community safety officers and the neighbourhood policing team have worked together on this. However, none of this would have been possible without the support of the residents, who have stood up and said that enough is enough and supported the Council and police in bringing these to prosecution. We will continue to support the community through this process.''

Acting Sergeant Phil Morley has been working with the Thanet Community Safety Partnership on this case and said: It's great that the trial dates have finally been fixed. I am pleased that the witnesses and residents involved can finally have closure on this case. I hope that the trial is successful, as it will help to reinforce the message that Kent Police will support the community and work with them and their partner agencies to reduce and combat anti-social behaviour."

If anyone has any concerns about anti-social behaviour in the Newington area, they can contact their local PCs, who are Mel Geeves and Chris Wiltshire on either 07870252880 or 07980770678. The local PCSO's are Nathan Prentice and Gareth Foreman and they can be contacted on 07772 226199 or 07772 226130.

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