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Video: Police clean up Peterborough city centre
BEGGARS, street boozers and shoplifters intimidating visitors to Peterborough's city centre have been the target of a two-day police crackdown.
BEGGARS, street boozers and shoplifters intimidating visitors to Peterborough's city centre have been the target of a two-day police crackdown.The zero-tolerance operation led by city centre police sergeant Paul Harris saw a 14-strong team arrest an aggressive beggar, find a knife in St Paul's churchyard in Westgate, seize cannabis and catch two men casing a car park.
The high-visibility policing presence also saw cyclists and drivers flouting the law slapped with fines, alcohol seized from people drinking in the streets and poured down the drain as well as two truants being sent back to school.
The operation was sparked by businesses and residents urging police to target shoplifting and begging in the area and coincided with a surge in officer numbers as four probationer police constables entered their final training.
Sgt Harris said: "We thought we could utilise the extra bodies to really get out onto the streets in a positive way and tackle the priorities.
"Getting a knife off the street was very important and the other arrests show the results of street policing."
With some crooks trying to bamboozle older shoppers at Tesco, in Broadway, by helping with their shopping, bundling them into taxis and then pocketing the pound from their trolleys police have also been handing out trolley tokens.
Sgt Harris added: "We were told about this and gave them some tokens to use which seems to have done the trick, it may not seem much but for these vulnerable people it's frightening and this is what we need to hear about."
The police were joined on the beat by Peterborough City Council environmental officer John Mees who was looking at issues like graffiti, litter and lost bins.
The move was backed by Queensgate marketing manager Phil Drinkwater, who said he was delighted to see a significant drop in the number of aggressive beggars. He added: "We don't have a problem in the centre but just outside and thanks to the police being proactive and the council's poster campaign the situation is better."
Panel Priorities
BUSINESS leaders and residents at the city centre police panel meeting in November chose as their priorities: anti-social behaviour in Broadway, Burgley Road, Lincoln Road and Fitzwilliam Street, tackling prostitution and associated anti-social behaviour and shoplifting.
Inspector Matt Newman said the operation had targeted these issues.
He added: "The public want to see police on the street and hopefully the numbers we got out there over the last two days sent a clear message."
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Weather for Peterborough
Sunday 12 February 2012
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Temperature: 1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
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