There are further plans to stamp out troublemakers “hiding in the shadows” around a Nottingham city centre following an incident involving machetes.
Concerns have been voiced over anti-social behaviour outside the Council House in Old Market Square, particularly after a high-profile incident during which two groups of youths confronted one another near the Winter Wonderland market.
Some were captured on video carrying machetes while riding electric bikes.
Nottinghamshire Police and the council ramped up patrols in the area following the incident on November 16.
Seven people were arrested and bailed under conditions preventing them from entering the city centre or wearing face coverings, the force said in a recent update.
Recently, a group of urban explorers also targeted the Council House, where they posted social media videos from the roof of the building and appeared to be taunting police.
Now, the Labour-run authority says it is planning further measures around the Council House – including potentially gating off certain areas – to make it more difficult for troublemakers to hide in the shadows.
A council meeting to discuss anti-social behaviour and public space protection orders (PSPOs) was held on Wednesday 3 December, during which anti-social behaviour around the Council House was raised.
Cllr Salma Mumtaz (Lab) said: “There has been anti-social behaviour mainly outside the Council House. I have seen people smoking drugs, having arguments and fights.
“There was a video recently on Facebook that was widely shared, and people with machetes were waving them around with the public just walking past.
“Would there be any protection in place in the city centre? Where were the CPOs (community protection officers) at the time; and why wasn’t that action taken, rather than a few days later?”
The council’s strategic director of communities, Colin Wilderspin, said there had been – and currently is – a “robust” presence of neighbourhood safety officers (NSOs), police officers, and security guards in the city centre.
“What I can say in terms of working in partnership is in fact a meeting is taking place now,” he said.
“It is an active operation around the city centre for that visible presence. What I can say in the public domain is the police responded within 50 seconds of the 999 call, and following on from that multiple arrests were made.
“At the Council House we have done a community safety review of the actual building itself, security measures, and everything else that has been put in place, to make sure we can make it as uncomfortable a place as possible to reduce that [anti-social behaviour].
“There is that preventative work we need to look at. There is that visibility. The police and NSOs can’t be everywhere, but the reality is we use data and intelligence we get from police and we will get residents – and yourselves as ward councillors – to try and make sure we prioritise our resources in the best places.
“It’s about making things harder for people to do things and get away with things. For example, outside the Council House there are quite a lot of inlets where people can go, so we are looking at potentially what we can do – like gating – to make it harder for people to hide in the shadows.”
Cllr Corall Jenkins (Lab), executive member for neighbourhoods, said photographs will soon be placed around the city displaying the faces of neighbourhood safety officers out on patrol so they can be more easily identified.
“In terms of the Council House we have got NSOs that are sometimes out there,” she added.
