Claims Wrexham public has ‘lost faith’ in council’s ability to tackle anti-social behaviour

People living in Wrexham have lost faith in the local authority’s ability to tackle anti-social behaviour issues, it’s been claimed by one local councillor.

It comes as new figures show less than one in 20 fines handed out as part of a drive to cut down on issues such as drug taking and alcohol consumption were actually paid.

Wrexham Council introduced a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) covering the town centre and Rhosddu in 2016, which saw council staff and police given the power to issue fixed penalties of £100 for such offences.

However, despite a total of 183 fines being issued in the last three years, statistics obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act show only nine have been paid to date.

The authority is currently consulting on plans to create a new enhanced order after the previous one lapsed, but Grosvenor councillor Marc Jones said residents in his ward were fed up with the problems plaguing the area.

The Plaid Cymru politician criticised the lack of enforcement carried out and called for a broader strategy to be created to improve community safety.

He said: “Tackling anti-social behaviour and its underlying causes has to mean more than a PSPO that isn’t enforced properly.

“People who live in Rhosddu, the town’s shopkeepers and everyone who uses the town centre want reassurances that they and their families can go about their business without having to put up with anti-social behaviour.

“The last PSPO didn’t provide that and any future PSPO has to be better thought out and better resourced as part of a broader strategy to improve our community.

“People in my ward have lost faith in the council’s ability to deliver.

“If I’m honest, I’m not convinced this executive board can deliver the improvements Wrexham needs to see because it’s more interested in getting easy headlines than tackling the underlying causes of the problems we have.”

The council was originally not expected to renew the PSPO, but came under pressure to change its stance from members of Rhosddu Community Council who called for a ‘beefed-up’ version to be introduced.

In July, the authority outlined proposals to bring in extra powers, including the ability to stop begging and intimidation.

In response to the concerns raised by Cllr Jones, the council’s portfolio holder for public protection and community safety, said penalty notices were normally handed out as a last resort

Conservative councillor Hugh Jones added that the future focus would be on providing support to people to prevent them from committing crimes.

He said: “When the PSPOs were introduced, we were very clear that enforcement under the new orders would be a last resort.

“Instead, the prospect of enforcement would act as a deterrent, and we would use that deterrent to encourage people to engage with those services which could help them best, rather than immediately resorting to enforcement and the imposition of fixed penalty notices.

“Where enforcement has been required and other options have been exhausted, we have used – and will continue to use – enforcement as a method of tackling anti-social behaviour.

“But that enforcement can only be part of a wider effort involving partner agencies, and the provision of proper support.”

Proposals to introduce a new PSPO will be considered by members of the council’s executive board in October.

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme).