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More police patrols planned at York trouble spot – Officers thank parents for helping to reduce disorder

Police on Little Knavesmire, York. Photograph: North Yorkshire Police
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Police will be patrolling Little Knavesmire again this weekend – hoping it will be the second peaceful one in a row.

Two teenagers were arrested and a 16-year-old boy was life in hospital after an outbreak of ‘large-scale disorder’ there earlier this month.

In response, North Yorkshire Police stepped up patrols last weekend. They put dispersal orders in place to deal with any groups causing antisocial behaviour or worse.

And officers urged parents to monitor their children’s whereabouts to prevent underage drinking.

Inspector Lee Pointon, of York Neighbourhood Policing Team, said today: “My thanks goes to those who supported us and our plea to parents to make sure they knew where their children were and what they were doing.

“The weekend passed off quietly with officers only needing to speak to one group when they asked them to consider local residents, which they duly did.”

Prevent people returning

But police are keeping up the pressure, Insp Pointon said. “With more dry, warm weather on the way we will be doing more of the same patrols this weekend and keeping the same dispersal orders in place giving us the ability to disperse groups and prevent people from returning within a specific timeframe.

“We hope to see the same great cooperation this time.

“We’ll also be working closely with our partners and the City of York Council and Safer York Partnership who will be undertaking joint patrols, addressing issues of littering and underage sales of alcohol.”

Jane Mowat of the Safer York Partnership, added: “We are keen to ensure that as Covid restrictions are eased, our communities continue to feel safe in York.

“We are working closely with the Neighbourhood Policing Teams  on a daily basis to ensure that we identify any issues early and put joint measures in place to address them.”

Police said the actions were put in place following increased reports of drinking, littering and intimidating behaviour by groups of youths in the area.