Council enforcement officers to be given powers to deal with city centre drinking and anti social behaviour

A new team of enforcement officers will be hitting the city centre streets ‘imminently’ in a bid to tackle drinking and other anti social behaviour.

The issue of how to deal with problems including street drinking in and around Cathedral Square has hit the headlines recently – with Peterborough MP Paul Bristow and Cambridgeshire Police’s chief constable Nick Dean having a war of words about how to clamp down on anti-social behaviour.

City council leader, Wayne Fitzgerald, announced the new hit squad in his Peterborough Telegraph column today.

He said the council had worked with Cambridgeshire police on the scheme, which is due to start a six month trial in October.

Team will have powers to fine trouble makers

The team will look to work with street drinkers and others carrying out anti-social behaviour – but will also have powers to fine those continuing to cause problems in the area.

He said: “We are currently aware that the behaviour of certain individuals such as street drinkers is impacting on the way the city centre is perceived and may be putting some people off visiting.

"I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done to enhance our city centre in recent years and want it to be somewhere that everyone can visit and enjoy at all times. Quite simply, we don’t want a tiny minority of people spoiling things for the vast majority.

“Next month, a team of dedicated city centre officers will be deployed as part of a six-month crackdown on street drinking and other forms of ASB.

“The team will patrol the city centre in conjunction with our prevention and enforcement officers aimed at deterring those engaging in ASB. They will be trained to work with individuals, first using verbal persuasion to encourage them to stop.

“If this approach is not successful, then officers have the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices and/or build up a dossier of evidence with a view to using further legal action.”

Scheme could be extended to other parts of the city

While the initial trial will only be for six months, the enforcement team could become a permanent sight on the city streets – and the scheme could even be extended to other parts of Peterborough.

Cllr Fitzgerald said: “We will complete a review of the scheme when it finishes in March 2023 and use the findings to decide if this should be a full-time solution for the city. If this happens, there is also a possibility that small changes to the scope could be made, such as extending the area to other sections of the city.

“This trial – which uses the same company which provided our Covid-19 marshalls – will show if the placement of dedicated city centre officers has a positive impact on the look and feel of this area.

"If it does, then we will look at making this a permanent addition.”