A “dedicated police presence” to continue in Southsea and Old Portsmouth after antisocial behaviour plagues the area
Measures to tackle antisocial behaviour will remain for the rest of half term week
A “dedicated police and staff presence” will continue all week in Southsea and Old Portsmouth following antisocial behaviour which plagued the area over the bumper bank holiday weekend.
The pledge comes after groups of around 150 young people gathered at the Hotwalls forcing police to clamp down on “aggressive and intimidating” behaviour - as temperatures soared to around 30 degrees. This led to unpleasant scenes, with instances of yobs chasing vehicles down the street as well as shouting and swearing.
Videos were also shared on social media of bad behaviour, with a number of young people intoxicated by alcohol. This included one of a woman pointlessly taking a rucksack out of a council vehicle and throwing it on the floor while workers cleaned the nearby toilets.
As previously reported by The News, the police and Portsmouth City Council work together to tackle problem areas over the spring and summer months as part of ‘Operation Nautical’, with increased patrols among the measures as well as dispersal orders giving police additional powers to move people from trouble spots.
The council said that while most seafront visitors caused no issue, it was a minority of people which spoiled it for others over the weekend.
“The majority thankfully respected others and our beaches and seafront areas,” a spokesperson said. “There were unfortunately incidents which were responded to by Operation Nautical, the police-led partnership approach to antisocial behaviour across on the seafront.
“It only takes a small number of people misbehaving to impact a lot of people, and this was the case at Hotwalls, where groups of youths caused nuisance and intimidation to people working and visiting.”
Hampshire Police have confirmed that over the bank holiday weekend, eight people were issued with section 35 orders under the dispersal powers. The orders allow officers to direct anyone involved in antisocial behaviour or criminality to leave the designated area and to not return for up to 48 hours. Anyone who ignores this direction could be arrested.
Portsmouth Chief Inspector Sam Warne said, “This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. A lot of work goes into trying to prevent these matters escalating with partners who support the daily operations.
"As we move into the summer months, we want to be clear:
• We will take robust action against anyone involved in disorder or anti-social behaviour
• Powers such as arrest and Section 35 dispersal (move on) orders will be used where necessary
• This remains a community priority, and incidents like this will continue to be met with an appropriate, scaled police response
"We want young people to enjoy public spaces safely and responsibly. The actions of a small minority will not be allowed to put others at risk or undermine the safety of our communities.”
As well as issues with antisocial behavior, the high volume of visitors also resulted in overflowing litter bins and rubbish, as well as shortfalls in the busy public toilets facilities near busier areas of the city such as Canoe Lake and Southsea Common.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth City Council said it had put extra resources in place to cope with the impact of thousands of people visiting on “an extremely busy bank holiday weekend” - including the provision of extra staff.
A spokesperson said: “We put on a range of additional staff across our services in anticipation of the hot weather, long weekend and half term encouraging higher visitor numbers, and already have extra CCTV in place.
“We put on more council staff to empty bins and keep areas clean and tidy, and shared messaging ahead of the weekend asking people to clean up after themselves.
“There will be a dedicated police and staff presence continuing all this week, anyone with concerns can speak to them or call 0800 085 3840 (10am to 10pm) or email [email protected] .”
Portsmouth was not the only seaside city to experience anti-social behavior over the bank holiday weekend. Police have said there was "disorder involving a large number of people" at Bournemouth beach, and a teenager was stabbed in a seafront brawl in Brighton.