Top cop hits back at Peterborough MP Paul Bristow's claims they are doing nothing to tackle street drinking – and calls for more support for his officers

Cambridgeshire’s top cop has hit back at claims from Peterborough’s MP that officers are doing nothing to tackle anti-social behaviour associated with street drinking in the city centre.

Nick Dean, chief constable of Cambridgeshire Police said the claims were not true – and called for more support for officers.

Two weeks ago in his weekly Peterborough Telegraph column, MP Paul Bristow called for more action to be taken to tackle street drinking.

Last week in his column he said he had spoken to Cambridgeshire Police about the issue – and said: “Cambridgeshire Police told me they made an operational decision not to enforce our Public Space Protection Order.

“You read that correctly. Peterborough City Council got the order in place to tackle the problem, but the police have been ignoring it - and not issuing fixed penalty notices - as a matter of policy since 2017.”

We see every day how anti-social behaviour directly affects the quality of lives of all individuals

Now Mr Dean has said claims officers are doing nothing to tackle the issue are wide of the mark.

He said: “In 2017, Cambridgeshire Constabulary was an early adopter of moving to a two tier out of court disposal system; this removed fixed penalty tickets for a number of offences and steered officers to deal with issues in other ways, this included diversion, support and treatment for example, while still having the ability to arrest and prosecute for offences.

“This two-tier framework becomes law early next year under current government plans, so we will not be alone in this move; it will mean all 43 forces across England and Wales will have to abide by this new legislation. It is misleading to say that we are ignoring issues.

“Aside from the legislative angle, the diversionary route, where appropriate, supports an individual, many of whom have complex needs, rather than bring them into an already over-stretched criminal justice system.”

He added: “I agree with Mr Bristow in his statement that anti-social behaviour is not trivial – we see every day how it directly affects the quality of lives of all individuals, however, I too am are ‘on your side’, in fact it would be far better if we all worked together on this issue rather than simply criticise the perceived inaction of my teams and many partner agencies who support the City.”

My officers need support from those who hold positions that could bring whole systems together, not criticism

He added officers were currently under more pressure than ever before and said: “This weekend policing resources were tied up ‘babysitting’ missing people who we had found, supporting people who urgently needed mental health assessments where health colleagues were struggling, looking after young people at risk of exploitation if released back into the community without support from other agencies – all of which are not our core role, but we do it because it is the right thing to do.

“When we are dealing with so many people who need our help, my officers need support from those who hold positions that could bring whole systems together, not criticism.”

The Peterborough Telegraph has contacted Mr Bristow for comment.

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