BROADSTAIRS A TOWN OUT OF CONTROL
as Thanet District Council gain draconian new powers!
Residents of Broadstairs, will be able to sleep easy tonight, assuming they have no regard for civil rights, and a sense of proportion.
Unbeknownst to us Thanetonians who do not reside in Broadstairs, Broadstairs has become a lawless place, a town for which normal rules and laws do not apply. To be honest this has come, as somewhat a of surprise, that things have got so bad in Broadstairs.
Thanet District Council along with Kent police have applied and got extreme new powers, which to my mind would not be out of place in a South American dictatorship, from the 1st June, police will if the mood takes them, be able to demand that groups of people disperse, in addition they will be imposing a tough curfew on anyone under the age of 16, between 9pm and 6am.
Perhaps the truly disturbing, issue in all this, is the fact, that things have got so rough in Broadstairs, that the councils press release, dares not give any details of the hideous crimes, too horrific to mention that have motivated this action. Since murder, armed robbery, crimes of violence seem commonplace in Margate, Birchington and Ramsgate the mind boggles at what the residents of Broadstairs have been facing.
Councillor Chris Wells, Cabinet member for safer neighbourhoods, is quoted as follows "I am delighted to be making this early announcement of our continuing determination *to reduce anti-social behaviour in Thanet.'' Well I'm pleased that Chris Wells is delighted, however I personally feel that this is an over-the-top reaction, kids have always congregated on Broadstairs seafront, and they have always been noisy etc (me included almost 40 years ago).
On the subject of introducing curfews, again going back nearly 40 years, I was frequently out after 9pm for legitimate reasons but back then, I would not have faced arrest.
I can't wait to see what Chris Wells and his safer neighbourhoods colleagues have in-store for us rougher Margatonians, let alone Birchington's armed criminals, perhaps we will be shot on sight.
*I think this word (to) was ommited in the Thanet council press release
See you spotted the deliberate error in the news release, I will try and include one every time to keep you on your toes. For the rest, I can only quote Sgt Knox of the Crime Reduction Unit "The curfew is an additional tool enabling officers to take young people home when they persist in anti-social behaviour and spoil it for anyone trying to enjoy an evening out in Broadstairs.”
ReplyDeleteHardly draconian or demonising, just common sense!
I thought it was pretty much common knowledge that no sane person would venture onto Broadstairs High Street on a Friday or Saturday night.
ReplyDeleteAnd all the cops seem to do is ride around in their armoured Transits, staring out of the windows.
Blimey, I'd rather have a night out in Margate!
Cllr Wells, what is to prevent our 'boys in blue' just arresting anyone who is breaching the peace and if they are a minor, calling their parents into Fort Hill to spring them; preferably, as we are now policed from Canterbury, taking any said brats to Canterbury and getting parents to go there? Are you incapable of grasping that if police are unable to uphold the law of 'breach of the peace'they are equally incapable of enforcing your curfew and 'gathering' orders. It is not extra powers we need to grant to the Police but an expectation that they will uphold long established laws to deal with un-ruly behaviour. Curfews and controls are an abomination any civilised country should abhor. You should be ashamed, as you are a Tory councillor, being remotely assosciated with such repressive 'orders' but to be actively promoting them is quite frankly astonishing!
ReplyDeleteCripes! Wish I'd read this before taking my life in my hands and staying out to the wee hours in Harbour Street where notice of these new Draconian measures is posted.But since I was in Harpies all sense of self preservation has clearly deserted me sometime ago.
ReplyDeleteThe ability for Thanet police to brak up groups of young people who are being anti-social isnt exactly new...Cliftonville has had it in the past and by all accounts it worked pretty well. As for a curfew, thats a good option for the police to be able to use in appropriate circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIf police use the powers when they are not appropriate then a complaint can be made against the police. The police isnt above the law. The provision of these powers to the police dont seem particularly draconian. It seems pretty normal.
As a resident living on the seafront in Broadstairs. As an observation last year, during the firework events, there were hundreds of people here and no visable policing, only at the last events were a few police visable and clearly could not control the number of people here. This area has been inadquately policed. Only recently have we seen police patrolling on foot, but that it done during the daytime, when it is not required, and it seems to be an excercise just to impress the general public that there is policing. After hours the armoured transits arrive to imtimidate. It is questionable how effective the security cameras are? The Council seems to think that ripping up the privot fences will improve the cameras visability...yet there was no comment from them regarding the person that ripped out the yukka plant under the camera last year, the only thing he did not do was hit the camera! The huge majority of the kids here are very well behaved, and the Seafront has always been a meeting point, and this will only alienate a future generation and will surely just drive them elsewhere. The foreign students always meetup on the front will they be disbanded by the armoured transit mob? One wonders what will the police impose on my 15yr old son after going out in Ramsgate to the cimema etc with his friends, as he will be walking home after the 9.00pm curfew? The Council is ignoring other very important issues, Broadstairs businesses are shutting down,traffic management in Broadstairs is appaling,the newly installed 20mph zone is badly planned and the speeding traffic is not policed. The Council's prority would appear to be raising additional revenue from increasing parking fees and increasing the number of pay and display places, such as York Street, and also erecting more beach huts to raise further revenue even if they have been sited in a place which invites vandalism such as the ones near the old shelter on the beach.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say my son was sitting on a park bench outside on the Promenade in the afternoon last week and was on his own, playing his PSP. A policeman stood behind him for a long time, and then finnally approached him and said he had not seen him in Broadstairs before. As I watched this, and I felt very uncomfortabale about the method of policing. The Policeman did not approach any other people of older age who were also seating on benches at the time etc
ReplyDelete