Yobs to feel full force of the law

POLICE and Crime commissioner Tony Lloyd has joined the fight against anti-social behaviour in Shaw after attending a summit with parish councillors.

Councillor Rod Blyth, who organised the talks, has been campaigning for action on anti-social behaviour since a 29-year-old man was stabbed in an incident in the market place last month.

Now Mr Lloyd has stated his commitment to tackling the issue by maintaining high police presence in problem areas and holding talks with other agencies.

He said: “Anti-social behaviour trashes people’s lives so I welcomed the opportunity to meet with Shaw people, police and councillors to discuss their concerns.

“It’s really important that effective action is taken where anti-social behaviour is making people’s lives a misery.

“When police, council, local agencies and — most importantly of all — local people stand together I strongly believe we can defeat it.

“That’s what’s happening in Shaw and police officers and council staff were able to outline to the community the action they are taking.

“It is such a shame that these young people are causing these problems — they don’t represent the vast majority of teenagers in the area.

“The fact that this small cohort are coming to Shaw to cause problems is simply unacceptable.

“I will be raising this issue with the appropriate agencies to ensure that everyone is playing their part to end this blight.”

Councillor Blyth reiterated his belief that abuse of the tram network is a key factor in the problem and called on Transport for Greater Manchester (Tfgm) for action.

He said: “The tram is the link, when kids were taking the buses they had to pay but the youths know the system and that they are really unlikely to be caught.

“Even if kids see a tram go past with inspectors on, they know that the next one won’t have any and if they wait they have a free ride.

“Tfgm has to do something different. It is losing money and it’s causing problems for everyone.

“Youths from Derker are coming to Shaw and groups of under-age drinkers from Shaw were found in pubs in Lees recently in a crackdown.
For a full version of this story read the Chronicle in print or via the digital iChron and eChron editions on mobile and laptop.