THE leader of Leeds City Council, Coun Keith Wakefield, took a tour of a Leeds suburb to see for himself the extent of the city's yob menace. Grant Woodward was with him.
A POLICE hit squad set up to combat thugs running riot in an inner city Leeds suburb today told the public: "Help us take back your community."
The special unit – the first of its kind in the country –– is spearheading a major crackdown on yobs in the police division of Killingbeck.
The move comes after it was revealed that the East Leeds division – which includes Gipton, Seacroft and Halton – is the number one hotspot for troublemakers in West Yorkshire.
Total
It accounts for half the total number of thugs currently subject to anti-social behaviour orders (ASBO) in the county.
There are 48 ASBO's in place in West Yorkshire - 24 of which have been imposed on yobs in the division, while another 20 are pending.
The unit's work was applauded today by Coun Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, who has vowed to clean up the streets.
He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "Tackling the yobbish behaviour and criminal activity that makes people's lives a misery is my top priority.
"A minority of troublemakers are spoiling areas for the majority of people who live there and I have made it clear that we will crack down hard once we have identified these individuals."
He added: "The officers from the anti-social behaviour team at Killingbeck are doing a great job. But we need the public on our side as well – everyone has to play their part."
Blighting
The council – backed by the Yorkshire Evening Post – has declared war on yobs in the city with the Target the Yobs campaign after the paper highlighted the issue in its hard-hitting Life in Leeds investigation.
The campaign showed how crime, disturbances and vandalism are blighting the lives of many people in inner city areas.
Coun Wakefield toured one of the city's hotspots yesterday to see for himself the extent of Leeds's problem of anti-social behaviour.
Sergeant Ian Poskitt, of Killingbeck division, said: "This is a chance for ordinary, decent people to take back their communities. But we need them to do their bit."
THE leader of Leeds City Council stands and stares at the teenager in front of him.
The youngster, clad in the teenage uniform of baseball cap and tracksuit, stares back.
Without batting an eyelid at the presence of the group of council and police bigwigs, he starts shouting to the Yorkshire Evening Post photographer.
"We want our picture took," he yells. "This is the Gipton Mob, why don't you write a story about us?"
His pals around him grin broadly. One of them – who looks no older than 10 – is hitching a ride on the back of his friend's bike.
"Can you get off that please?" asks one of the officers. "Bicycles are only made for one person."
The youngster does as he is told but is determined to have the last word.
"Why?" he asks with a smirk.
Back at the police's Killingbeck division headquarters in Leeds, Coun Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, ponders what he has seen.
"It wasn't so long ago you would have jumped off your bike as soon as you saw a policeman," he says.
"But now they come back, eyeball you, and show complete contempt. It's as if they're saying, 'This is our territory and we don't like you coming to challenge us.'
"We need to send a message to these people that we are here and we are supporting ordinary decent people."
Coun Wakefield's visit to the Branders, a network of streets in Gipton, is part of his bid to crack down on anti-social behaviour in the city.
In a briefing by Killingbeck division's anti-social behaviour team – the only one of its kind in the country – he has learned that half of all the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in West Yorkshire have been imposed in this division.
The orders, which were introduced four years ago, are aimed at curbing the unruly yobs and petty criminals who have blighted so many of the city's estates.
He then decides to take a look at one of the "hotspots" for himself, accompanied by members of the team and the division's Chief Superintendent, Elizabeth Preece.
The tour takes us through streets scarred by tyre marks and the ash of car fires.
Nearby walls are covered with graffiti.
One of the officers, Sergeant Ian Poskitt, tells us of street racers in stolen cars and gangs running riot in derelict homes.
"A lot of it is small-scale anti-social behaviour," he says. "But it is still upsetting to people. Millions of pounds were poured into this estate in the 1990s but most of the improvements were just cosmetic, the problems are still here.
"The new anti-social behaviour legislation is all about giving people the chance to reclaim their community for themselves. And it's not toothless – one individual was made the subject of an ASBO (anti-social behaviour order) and the next day he breached it by talking to someone he wasn't supposed to.
"Someone told us about it and the next day he was arrested. Now he is due up in court again."
At the end of his visit Coun Wakefield makes plans to join police on visits to other areas saddled with problems of anti-social behaviour.
"We have got to show we are not frightened to go out and confront those who are involved in this behaviour," he says.
"I am pleased to see that we have the instruments now to tackle this problem and we must now roll out this approach to the rest of the city.
"Tackling the yobbish behaviour and criminal activity that makes people's lives a misery is my top priority."
Chief Supt Preece said she was pleased with the progress being made in paces such as Gipton, Halton and Halton Moor.
"We are pleased with the results so far, but we have only just begun," she said. "This is a sustained operation targeting those people who affect the quality of life of our local communities."
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