Sketch of shame: 'We're working hard to address issues in Boscombe', say Dorset Police (From Thisisdorset)
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Sketch of shame: 'We're working hard to address issues in Boscombe', say Dorset Police
9:32am Tuesday 12th June 2012 in News
Nicky Searle
Superintendent Nicky Searle, violent crime lead for Dorset Police, said: “We are working closely with partners, as a key member of the Boscombe Regeneration Partnership, to address issues that affect the trust and confidence of people living, working and visiting Boscombe.
“Operation Dismantle has been successful over the past three weeks in removing active drug supply networks in the town, and we will continue to target suppliers and users.
“Operation Planet is committed to removing prostitution from the streets of Bournemouth, working to deliver sustainable exit strategies for on street sex workers, and targeting kerb crawlers through re-education and conviction.
“Local officers in Boscombe are also working hard to reduce anti-social behaviour caused by street drinkers, drug use and supply.”
Cat McMillan, Bournemouth Council community regeneration officer said: “The Churchill Gardens area was prioritised this year as the main focus of work by the Boscombe Regeneration Partnership group and work is already beginning.
“We will be launching a regeneration programme in July which will capture all the multi-agency work.”
Andy Williams, the council’s safer and stronger communities manager said: “Bournemouth Council works closely with Dorset Police to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, both through prevention and enforcement. “There are a number of activities taking place to target those who are responsible for anti-social behaviour in Boscombe including increased CCTV to tackle prostitution.”
Comments(31)
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH
says...
10:13am Tue 12 Jun 12
The Police need to grow some balls like in the USA. Over there you go to jail for loitering! Stop talking (low quality) CCTV and man up, deal with crime head on.
Zero tolerance. In USA even if I threatened someone verbally, that's a battery charge. Get tough, CLEAN UP BOSCOMBE and surrounding neighborhoods!
simcal
says...
10:18am Tue 12 Jun 12
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH wrote:If you think the USA is so great, F**k off and live there.
Nothing has changed in the past 12 years of being here.
The Police need to grow some balls like in the USA. Over there you go to jail for loitering! Stop talking (low quality) CCTV and man up, deal with crime head on.
Zero tolerance. In USA even if I threatened someone verbally, that's a battery charge. Get tough, CLEAN UP BOSCOMBE and surrounding neighborhoods!
rudolph_hucker
says...
10:41am Tue 12 Jun 12
Legalise drugs for registered addicts. Then the dealers will go out of business and crime will fall.
Or carry on with the current mish-mash policy and nothing will ever change.
I will not hold my breath.
HRH of Boscombe
says...
10:43am Tue 12 Jun 12
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Anyway it's not for the Police to solve. They can try and control the situation but until the thick headed council realise we need rid of the HMOs and their occupants it will be 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
mysticalshoelace
says...
11:08am Tue 12 Jun 12
Superintendent Nicky Searle, violent crime lead for Dorset Police, said: “We are working closely with partners, as a key member of the Boscombe Regeneration Partnership, to address issues that affect the trust and confidence of people living, working and visiting Boscombe.
Instead of working closely with 'partners' how about just arresting all the criminals.
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH
says...
11:09am Tue 12 Jun 12
HRH of Boscombe wrote:It would appear some have never experienced a more civilized lifestyle and society than Boscombe. I lived in USA for 6 years and it was the best days of my life. Felt safe (and free) to walk around my neighborhood at all times day, noon and night with my 2 year old child, alone, on the streets with nothing to fear.
Well said simcal. If people want to live in a society where you can get arrested for crossing a road without a crossing please leave ASAP.
.
Anyway it's not for the Police to solve. They can try and control the situation but until the thick headed council realise we need rid of the HMOs and their occupants it will be 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
Jaywalking is a law, that protects both pedestrians and motorists. Loitering, which is evident outside McDonald's and immediate vicinity is disgusting. If you enjoy dining with a BigMac Meal with a view of down and out bums on the other side of the window then you are welcome to it!
I'd rather fear the Police than the local violent thugs. They terrorize the community, so should rightly be classified "terrorists".
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH
says...
11:10am Tue 12 Jun 12
HRH of Boscombe wrote:It would appear some have never experienced a more civilized lifestyle and society than Boscombe. I lived in USA for 6 years and it was the best days of my life. Felt safe (and free) to walk around my neighborhood at all times day, noon and night with my 2 year old child, alone, on the streets with nothing to fear.
Well said simcal. If people want to live in a society where you can get arrested for crossing a road without a crossing please leave ASAP.
.
Anyway it's not for the Police to solve. They can try and control the situation but until the thick headed council realise we need rid of the HMOs and their occupants it will be 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
Jaywalking is a law, that protects both pedestrians and motorists. Loitering, which is evident outside McDonald's and immediate vicinity is disgusting. If you enjoy dining with a BigMac Meal with a view of down and out bums on the other side of the window then you are welcome to it!
I'd rather fear the Police than the local violent thugs. They terrorize the community, so should rightly be classified "terrorists".
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH
says...
11:17am Tue 12 Jun 12
mysticalshoelace wrote:Bingo!
Superintendent Nicky Searle, violent crime lead for Dorset Police, said: “We are working closely with partners, as a key member of the Boscombe Regeneration Partnership, to address issues that affect the trust and confidence of people living, working and visiting Boscombe.
Instead of working closely with 'partners' how about just arresting all the criminals.
HRH of Boscombe
says...
11:23am Tue 12 Jun 12
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I generally don't consider McDs as dining. It just a contributing factor to a disgusting vicinity. Where did this little greasy gem come from?
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Anyway I agree Boscombe needs sorting out but not by martial law. It's all very easy to solve if the Council banned or severely limited HMOs. There's no need for the rest of us to live under some sort of Junta.
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH
says...
11:43am Tue 12 Jun 12
HRH of Boscombe wrote:Cool, I too lived on the East Coast of South Florida for 5 years (the other year was in NYC).
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH I lived near Miami for 18 months. If you think gangs with automatic weapons makes you feel safe then please go back.
.
I generally don't consider McDs as dining. It just a contributing factor to a disgusting vicinity. Where did this little greasy gem come from?
.
Anyway I agree Boscombe needs sorting out but not by martial law. It's all very easy to solve if the Council banned or severely limited HMOs. There's no need for the rest of us to live under some sort of Junta.
Of course there are no-go areas in Miami, very scary, but it's not so compact/closed-in and in your face like here in "family-friendly" Boscombe.
rozmister
says...
11:56am Tue 12 Jun 12
It was closed a few years back because of prostitution and drug use and now they're proposing reopening it again?!
The problem in Boscombe is it's about temporarily managing the problem not resolving it. While they're sorting out the Crescent the issues go down to Churchill Gardens and when they decide to fix up Churchill Gardens the problems will return to the Crescent.
As someone else said there needs to be a zero tolerance policy. Drinking in the street should be banned and enforced with a night in the cells, same for shoplifting and anti social behaviour such as fighting, shouting in the street and behaving in an intimidating manner. Drug users/dealers should be fully prosecuted too.
Unfortunately the police seem to think that removing a few dealers and prostitutes will solve all the problems. Doesn't even scratch the surface.
HRH of Boscombe
says...
12:09pm Tue 12 Jun 12
.
I have a bee in my bonnet about HMOs because they cause so many problems. If we could abolish all HMOs firstly the druggies would have to move to a different town. There would be more affordable family housing available if landlords couldn't split up larger properties. It would also be better for the family unit as kids wouldn't be able to afford to move out so soon which would probably help solve some noisey neighbours and other anti-social issues.
derek_acorah
says...
12:30pm Tue 12 Jun 12
Bob49
says...
1:49pm Tue 12 Jun 12
Big problems, that will continue as long as we have this piecemeal attitude of tinkering with the symptoms rather than actually addressing the root cause.That being there are too many residents of Boscombe whose sole preoccupation is their next drink or drug.
Sure, patch a few up and hopefully send them on their way, but as long as you have a system that brings in more then the problems of crime, prostitution, violence and general public disorder will continue.
No wasting money on idiotic 'gentrification' initiatives will deal with that problem either. All those worthless schemes do is pour money down the drain and allow for the usual suspects from the Town Hall to grin inanely at the camera under the delusion 'that something is being done'.
Cut off the supply of new addicts and drunks and you will gradually begin to change the area. The way to cut off that supply is for the council to stop paying unscrupulous landlords £400-£500 a month for scummy ratholes. Most of which house 'problem folk' who are neither from Bournemouth or even Dorset.
Switch off that tap and the place will eventually begin to dry out ... in more ways than one.
HRH of Boscombe
says...
2:18pm Tue 12 Jun 12
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Remove them all and you can remove all the problems.
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Without the useless users there will be no need for the supply anymore.
Bob49
says...
2:45pm Tue 12 Jun 12
If the council started paying a fair market rent for those ratholes then the landlords would face a stark choice.
Upgrade the property to a standard that commanded a reasonable rent on the open market or accept a far, far lower rent. That happens in virtually every other buying and selling relationship.
I would argue that very quickly most landlords would not be able to survive on an 80% reduction so would opt to upgrade.
There would not be the financial advantage to 'actively seeking' addicts and other problem tenants as the much reduced rents would not pay - and the investment in the property would demand decent tenants.
Sadly there are too many snouts in the trough for there to be any major change.
Deal with the cause, not the effects.
HRH of Boscombe
says...
3:23pm Tue 12 Jun 12
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The HMOs are just as bad as the drugs in my opinion. Even without the drug issue they go against family values and promote a selfish and insular society.
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I see your point about upgrading them and reluctantly have to say it's the more realistic proposal but I would like to see them abolished permanently.
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH
says...
3:35pm Tue 12 Jun 12
Something to fear, as in zero tolerance, round them up, ship 'em off to the local nick, book 'em and charge 'em and let them (try and) plead their innocence in a court of law.
(This includes loitering (after being asked to move on), being drunk in a public place, not having a license for their dog, even roudy behavior, etc, etc, ABSOLUTE ZERO TOLERANCE!)
See how that works. Simple strategy if you ask me, no?
Bob49
says...
3:44pm Tue 12 Jun 12
There are HMO's all over the borough and the country. Remove them and there will be no change as long as landlords are being paid a premium price for providing very low grade housing.
Remove the enormous financial benefit of bringing in addicts who will happily accept slum hoising and slowly as the various agencies 'process' and move on these folk they will become an ever decreasing minority.
At the moment, as fast as one lot are dealt with/moved on more are brought in. As long as that continues it matters little if they are housed in HMO's, bedsits, studios, flats.
Deal with the cause.
Bob49
says...
5:17pm Tue 12 Jun 12
Simple being the operative word.
" book 'em and charge 'em " with what ?
"not having a license for their dog" ?
I think you will find that there are a fair fw million who would be guilty of that - though possibly through there not being any requirement to have a license.
My suggestion to ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH is to go away and take a bit of time to ask him/herself why if these crackpot ideas have any worth are the US jails crammed full and yet still crime and murder are still a fairly routine part of of life over there.
Best keep it over there as well.
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH
says...
6:47pm Tue 12 Jun 12
Bob49 wrote:Bob, you said, "Here's a suggestion. Stop refering to Boscombe's problems as 'issues'. They are problems.
"Simple strategy if you ask me"
Simple being the operative word.
" book 'em and charge 'em " with what ?
"not having a license for their dog" ?
I think you will find that there are a fair fw million who would be guilty of that - though possibly through there not being any requirement to have a license.
My suggestion to ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH is to go away and take a bit of time to ask him/herself why if these crackpot ideas have any worth are the US jails crammed full and yet still crime and murder are still a fairly routine part of of life over there.
Best keep it over there as well.
Big problems, that will continue as long as we have this piecemeal attitude of tinkering with the symptoms rather than actually addressing the root cause.That being there are too many residents of Boscombe whose sole preoccupation is their next drink or drug. "
If you don't have a solution and don't like mine then I suggest you just put up and deal with it then, and hope the situation, oops, problem, goes away... eh?
makingsenseofitall
says...
6:51pm Tue 12 Jun 12
Bob49 wrote:I completely agree with this. In whose interest is it that the Council continues to pay landlords £500 a months per household (in an HMO) even when they are SO FAR BELOW ANY RECOGNISED ACCEPTED LIVING STANDARD that it has been the subject of a Dispatches programme on tv.?
It is not necessarily the HMO's, it is those that occupy them.
If the council started paying a fair market rent for those ratholes then the landlords would face a stark choice.
Upgrade the property to a standard that commanded a reasonable rent on the open market or accept a far, far lower rent. That happens in virtually every other buying and selling relationship.
I would argue that very quickly most landlords would not be able to survive on an 80% reduction so would opt to upgrade.
There would not be the financial advantage to 'actively seeking' addicts and other problem tenants as the much reduced rents would not pay - and the investment in the property would demand decent tenants.
Sadly there are too many snouts in the trough for there to be any major change.
Deal with the cause, not the effects.
The Council is complicit in the profits that these landlords are making but why are they? What has the Council to gain for being in bed with unscrupulous landlords?
As Bob49 says, if the Council only paid the genuine market rent for these places, the landlords would be forced to improve the properties ...and so much else follows...
penhale
says...
8:40pm Tue 12 Jun 12
Back then it was a thriving high street with some quality shops, move on 40 years and it's become a drug den, drunks paradise and prostitutes hangout all rolled into one.
Cash converters, pawn shops, second hand tat shops tells you what sort of place Boscombe has become.
Go into Boscombe any day of the week and you find the scum of the earth lazing about on the pavement after signing on at the dole office
With today's politically correct policing and human rights rubbish there will be no change, the only way to clean it up is nuke it first.
Bob49
says...
10:44am Wed 13 Jun 12
I do
A further suggestion might be that you actually read my post
BournemouthMum
says...
1:32pm Wed 13 Jun 12
Bob49 wrote:Good idea in theory. But where would the current occupiers of such dwellings live - what is the alternative? Those 'ratholes' as you call them are people's homes, often one step away from a cardboard box.
It is not necessarily the HMO's, it is those that occupy them.
If the council started paying a fair market rent for those ratholes then the landlords would face a stark choice.
Upgrade the property to a standard that commanded a reasonable rent on the open market or accept a far, far lower rent. That happens in virtually every other buying and selling relationship.
I would argue that very quickly most landlords would not be able to survive on an 80% reduction so would opt to upgrade.
There would not be the financial advantage to 'actively seeking' addicts and other problem tenants as the much reduced rents would not pay - and the investment in the property would demand decent tenants.
Sadly there are too many snouts in the trough for there to be any major change.
Deal with the cause, not the effects.
It's true that most landlords would not continue to rent out these properties if they had to take an 80% reduction in rents. There would then be no incentive for anyone to rent out properties and then what? Where do you suggest these people live? And that is a serious question by the way, not sarcasm :)
Also, the Victorian/Edwardian properties are far too large to turn into family houses, and who's going to bear the cost in doing that anyway? These homes are only suitable for people without a car as they do not have driveways - cars didn't exist when they were built. As I said on the original article (comments) just leave the area as it is, it simply isn't worth doing anything with it because no matter how much money is thrown at the problem it won't make the slightest bit of difference.
Telscombe Cliffy
says...
11:10am Thu 14 Jun 12
Bob49
says...
12:06pm Thu 14 Jun 12
However to re-iterate and answer your questions. Where would they live ? Many are helped and moved on, out of the area. However that solves nothing if there remains the financial incentive to being in more. There is little point, as far as Boscombe is concerned, in helping girls get away from prostitution if landlords have every incentive to 'bring in' the next quota. It would be a slow process but with the tap turned off gradually problem folk would become the minority.
There would be EVERY incentive for 'anyone to rent out properties' as most have fairly large mortgages on them. Only the rent they receive would have to be used to make the property competetive with others, which would mean money spent on exterior as well as interior maintainance, decorating and the upkeep of gardens.
It would be foolish as well as potentially dangerous to " just leave the area as it is" given that the area is spreading an increasing, with increasing crime and disorder.
What is needed is NOT money 'thrown at the problem ', quite the opposite. But that money is not being handed over at huge rates to encourage landlords (and others) to continue this problem.
Over 25 years ago the same problem was happening all along the south coast. The rules were changed and very soon the problem stopped growing and slowly receded.
The current arrangement helps neither those with drink/drug problems, those involved with prostitution or the local residents who do not fall into those categories - it merely lines the pockets of a number of well connected landlords.
The solution is fairly simple. Cutting off the supply to the latter may be not so simple.
BournemouthMum
says...
12:43pm Fri 22 Jun 12
HRH of Boscombe wrote:I've noticed from the content of some of your posts that we have lived almost parallel lives! I too have lived near Miami (for 2 years) and London! Many people commenting on Boscombe issues have only ever lived in Bournemouh and don't seem to appreciate that although Boscombe is a dump, it's not nearly as bad as other areas of the world.
ILOVEBOURNEMOUTH I lived near Miami for 18 months. If you think gangs with automatic weapons makes you feel safe then please go back.
.
I generally don't consider McDs as dining. It just a contributing factor to a disgusting vicinity. Where did this little greasy gem come from?
.
Anyway I agree Boscombe needs sorting out but not by martial law. It's all very easy to solve if the Council banned or severely limited HMOs. There's no need for the rest of us to live under some sort of Junta.
Unfortunately Boscombe will never change. It's far too late to do anything about it now.
Tom 'Boscombe' Jones
says...
1:56pm Fri 22 Jun 12
pete woodley
says...
6:48pm Wed 27 Jun 12
politicaltrainspotter says...
9:56am Tue 12 Jun 12