2007
January 27: Families plagued by anti-social
behaviour are to be given the chance to raise their concerns
with former Home Secretary Charles Clarke at a public meeting
in the city. Story
January 27: Campaigners across the city
have called for action on yobs after dramatic increases
in vandalism across the country. Story
January 24: Families terrorised by “nightmare
neighbours” in a high rise block of city flats are
calling on the council to take action - or find them somewhere
else to live. Story
January 23: Government minister Hilary
Armstrong has backed the Evening News' Reclaim our Communities
campaign, echoing the support of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Story
January 8: Children as young as 10 have
been caught by police for stealing cars and burglary, it
was revealed today. The shocking age at which some youngsters
have been committing serious crimes was revealed by an
Evening News investigation. Story
2006
November 6 Families fighting yobs who
are making their lives a misery have found that working
together is the best way to reclaim their community. Action
is now being taken to tackle the anti-social behaviour of
youths in Barrett Road, Lakenham, after a catalogue of vandalism
and abuse over the past year. Story
November 3 Elderly people have
become prisoners in their own homes and young mums are being
forced to carry children up flights of stairs because their
lift was so badly vandalised it has taken five weeks to
repair. Story
November 2 Families living in
parts of the city have called for the end to a reign of
anti-social behaviour which has centred near a derelict
pub. Since the Crawshay Arms in Philadelphia Lane was reduced
to rubble two years ago, it has become a magnet for vandals
and yobs and the area has now been branded an eyesore by
people living nearby. Story
November 1 A pioneering order which prevented anti-social
yobs from gathering on the streets of a city estate has
been hailed for helping slash crime. In May, the Evening
News revealed how Norfolk police had joined forces with
Norwich City Council to introduce a dispersal order on a
number of streets on the Mile Cross estate. Story
October 27 Our police officers are getting so overwhelmed
by paperwork some are starting shifts up to two hours early
to try to tackle the growing mountain of bureaucracy. Home
Office figures released this week showed a third of police
time was being spent on paperwork, with just 63.2pc of time
devoted to front-line duties. Story
October 26 Greater powers are to be given to councils
to enable them to tackle troublemakers more effectively.
On the spot fines of up to £100 could soon be added
to councils' arsenals of weapons enabling wardens and others
officers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour and petty
crime. Story
October 25 A Norwich school is burgled every four
days - as criminals become increasingly keen to target
expensive
equipment. Fears have been raised that children are being
deprived of vital learning resources because of the number
of hi-tech raids on the city's schools, estimated to have
cost up to £200,000 last year. Story
October 25 A leading city councillor is calling
for urgent action to tackle the scourge of mini-motorbikes
blighting the lives of people across the city. The call
comes after the Evening News reported how families were
being terrorised by gangs of up to 30 youths riding the
mini-motos down pathways in the Sandy Lane area of Lakenham.
Story
October 24 A pensioner says her life is being made
a misery by the rotting carpets, a settee and wardrobe piled
up in her next door neighbour's front garden. Angela Semple,
67, from Old Catton, said some of the junk had been there
for months and had now got weeds growing on it. Story
October 23 City communities blighted by anti-social
behaviour have been given a boost with the news that four
new wardens are to be recruited at a cost of almost £100,000.
City council bosses also want to see wardens reassigned
to specific neighbourhoods, rather than operating from
a
central location and deploying staff to trouble hotspots. Story
October 21 Recruiting 40 more special constables
would have a huge impact on stamping out anti-social behaviour
on the streets of Norwich, a city MP has claimed. The Evening
News Reclaim Our Communities campaign, which aims to rid
city streets of yobs who ruin communities, was praised by
Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier this month. Story
October 20 Families terrorised by gangs of youths
in their community are calling for an end to the constant
anti-social behaviour. Gangs of up to 30 youths have been
riding mini-motos down pathways in the Sandy Lane area of
Lakenham, climbing over gardens and fences, and leaving
rubbish piled up in doorways. Story
October 19 Disgruntled families whose lives have
been blighted by anti-social behaviour packed out a meeting
to discuss the trouble in their area. A 40-strong petition
was handed in to council housing representatives demanding
action to stop the problems in Dolphin Grove. Story
October 18 A clean-up operation in one community
has proved such a success that later this week a similar
project will start in a neighbouring area. Late last month,
a crackdown on nuisance neighbours was launched by Norwich
City Council in Shorncliffe Avenue, Berners Close, Shorncliffe
Close and Half Mile Close in Mile Cross, with the aim of
getting gardens and streets tidied up and cleared of rubbish.
Story
October 17 A mother has told of her shock at waking
up to find broken glass strewn across her sitting room and
a trail of blood leading from her front garden. Lacey Douglass
believes a vandal punched in the front window of her home
and probably sustained a serious injury, but says the motive
for the attack is a mystery. Story
October 16 Families terrorised by drunken yobs
who vandalise homes after leaving nightclubs in the city
are being urged to report the attacks to highlight to police
the extent of the problem. The Safer Norwich Partnership
wants to identify hotspots around the city where criminal
damage is being caused by people heading home in a drunken
state. Story
October 14 Children have been warned they could
face banning orders for causing trouble while playing in
the street. But parents in Thurlby Road, Bowthorpe, are
angry after receiving a letter from the city council warning
neighbourhood wardens are patrolling the area. Story
October 13 The Prime Minister has personally praised
the Evening News and our readers for the Reclaim Our Communities
campaign. After reading how scores of Evening News readers
had written in to the paper and about initiatives launched
by police and councils in the area, Tony Blair has congratulated
us and our readers for trying to make Norwich and Norfolk
a better place. Story
October 13 New Chief Constable Ian McPherson has
vowed to “deliver a difference” to the people
of Norfolk and crack down on the anti-social behaviour
blighting
so many lives across the county. Story
October 12 Children at a city pre-school have
been left devastated after one of their playrooms was flooded
out by vandals. Yobs smashed windows and left a hosepipe
pouring water into a room at Nelson Pre-School used by
youngsters
for playing with building toys, causing more than £1000
worth of damage. Story
October 11 A return to old-fashioned park wardens
is needed to encourage parents to let their children play
in parks, a county MP has said. South Norfolk MP Richard
Bacon called for a return of the park warden as the Commons
public account committee published its report on Enhancing
Urban Green Space. Story
October 9 Council tenants have said their lives
have become a living nightmare because of anti-social behaviour
caused by problem families. Story
October 3 Ground-breaking
policing is successfully giving communities the power to
reclaim their communities and stamp out anti-social behaviour.
Under the Safer Neighbourhoods initiative, police in Great
Yarmouth have been working to clamp down on a minority of
people who cause problems. Story
September 30 A red tape wrangle is holding
up work to fix an intercom system at a block of flats -
and allowing drug addicts to use a communal stairwell to
shoot up. Angry council tenants have been bombarding the
city council with complaints and are desperate for the system
to be fixed so the flats can be shut again at night. Story
September 29 Tenants have been issued with
a stark warning that if they fail to keep their gardens
tidy and rubbish-free they could be evicted. A crackdown
on nuisance neighbours who blight the communities where
they live has been launched by Norwich City Council, starting
with a set of four streets in Mile Cross. Story
September 27 A city street has been turned
into a nightmare for families who say they are sick of children
running wild. People living on Barrett Road, Lakenham, say
anti-social behaviour has reached such a pitch that they
are totally demoralised by the situation. Story
September 26 Flytippers are to be targeted
and prosecuted as council chiefs and environmental agencies
team up to fight the problem. Councils across Norfolk have
pledged to get tough and have signed up to the Environment
Agency's new flytipping protocol. Story
September 25 Former Home Secretary Charles
Clarke insisted families must work with the police and council
to rid their streets of the “evil” of drugs
during a heated public meeting. About 70 people packed into
the Russell Street Community Centre to let the Norwich South
MP know about some of the many issues blighting their community.
Story
September 25 The council is calling on
more businesses to get out of the office and help clean
up the community. Its call comes in light of the Evening
News Reclaim Our Communities campaign and Norwich Union's
second successful community clean up day. Story
September 22 Anti-social behaviour and
concerns about dirty streets will be high on the agenda
when Norwich South MP Charles Clarke chairs a public meeting
to hear his constituents' concerns. Families who live in
the Dereham Road area are expected to pack the Russell Street
Community Centre for the meeting. Story
September 21 Families blighted by anti-social
behaviour have made an impassioned plea for a bigger police
presence after new figures show Norfolk is on target to
have almost 200 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs)
in place by April. Story
September 20 City cab drivers
have hit out against drunks who congregate outside the Guildhall
taxi rank. Cabbies said not only were the yobs costing them
business but they also gave a bad impression to tourists
visiting the city. Story
September 19 Uncertainty
surrounds the future of a derelict pub which has become
a focus for vandals - and locals are calling for action.
The Shoemaker, at the Earlham West Centre, in West Earlham,
has had its windows smashed, been wrecked inside and become
a source of litter and graffiti since it closed earlier
this year. Story
September 13 Illegal graffiti
artists have been warned they can expect on-the-spot fines
as council bosses get tough on yobs. As part of our Reclaim
the Communities campaign, aiming to highlight and lessen
anti-social behaviour in Norwich and the wider community,
we are asking people to report problems with graffiti in
their areas. Story
September 12 The fight against
boy racers who recklessly drive down roads has taken a novel
twist. Police are now contacting the insurers of cars to
make sure any modifications to souped-up vehicles, which
can include fitting special exhaust pipes and altering the
engine, have been legally documented. Story
September 11 It's not the
sort of letter you would not want your wife or girlfriend
to open - but more than 60 men have been written to by Norfolk
police advising them their cars have been spotted in the
city's red light district. Story
September 9 Litter is one
of the problems being highlighted by the Evening News’
Reclaim Our Communities campaign, which aims to help tackle
anti-social problems and issues. As our campaign today received
the backing of the Keep Britain Tidy group, reporter Dominic
Chessum talked to councils about what they are doing to
combat the problem. Story
September 7 Used drugs needles,
condoms and other debris have turned a city churchyard into
a health hazard. Concern about the state of the graveyard
at St Mark's Church is growing and environmental health
officers have been called out three times in less than two
weeks to clear it up. Story
September 6 Families have backed calls
from Tony Blair for intervention at the earliest possible
stage to prevent children “going off the rails”.
Plans for so-called “baby Asbos” were unveiled
just days after the Evening News launched its Reclaim our
Communities campaign. Story
September 5 A crackdown on drinking in
the city's streets has been hailed a success by police and
shopkeepers after officers confiscated alcohol from street
drunks more than 20 times. Story
September 5 Another community has decided
to take a stand against anti-social behaviour. At a public
meeting at Acle, people were urged to report anti-social
behaviour so they could be effectively dealt with by police
and the authorities. Story
September 4 Community leaders have vowed
to track down and prosecute fly-tippers spoiling the city
and countryside and draining thousands of pounds of council
tax payers' money. There are about 300 cases in Norwich
every month, landing the council with a bill of £100,000
each year for clearing the mess up. Story
September 2 A major study into anti-social
behaviour aimed at finding ways of preventing people from
ruining their neighbourhoods has been set up. Broadland
District Council is researching problems including fly-tipping,
vandalism and abandoned cars - a move which coincides with
the Evening News campaign to Reclaim Our Communities. Story
September 1 The Evening News campaign
to rid our streets of anti-social behaviour has been backed
by community leaders. Calls and emails are pouring in to
the Reclaim our Communities campaign, with issues ranging
from littering to abandoned cars. Story
August 31 The Evening News campaign to
stamp out anti-social behaviour has attracted an enthusiastic
response. People have been quick to back our Reclaim Our
Communities campaign to clamp down on the mindless minority
who spoil the areas in which we live for the rest of us.
Story
