'Do you know what your child is doing?' (From Free Press Series)

'Do you know what your child is doing?'

IN HIS latest article on anti-social behaviour, Adrian Osmond spoke to Superintendent Jon Burley. He talked openly about the limits on what police can do, the change in attitude of some young people, the responsibilities on parents and more.

"I'm not sure if the behaviour of young people has got any worse or if people are less tolerant than they used to be," said Supt Burley.

"There has always been an issue about behaviour of young people - with the older generation saying it's getting worse.

"The truth is that crime is reducing nationally and locally, as is disorder.

"One thing, though, is that these days everyone knows their rights, but not everyone takes responsibility for what they do. That has to change.

"And the respect of young people for authority has diminished.

"Often now, when an officer asks young people to move on for whatever reason, they get the response 'why should I'? I don't know why that is.

"Police used to do things they didn't have legal powers to do - such as the historic 'clip round the ear'. We can't do that now.

He admitted the volume of calls they receive means not all incidents get the response the public expect. "Anti-social behaviour can be sustained abuse from neighbours to kids playing football in the street."

"We are called to the whole spectrum of incidents, so we have to prioritise what we need to get to first. If there is someone at physical risk or property being damaged then that's top priority. If we get a call about a group of youths hanging round being loud who are no immediate risk to people or property then we will attend when we can.

"But I would ask people to record incidents - the time they took place, who took part, or a description of them.

"If there are persistent local problems and people aren't happy with the police response they can write to me or their local inspector. To solve the problem we have to work with everyone involved."

He also had a question for parents of young children. "Most disorder tends to come from local young people. So I would put the question to parents: are you satisfied you know where your child is at night?

"We need parents to take more responsibility for their children - to just keep a closer eye on them. It's only a tiny minority that causes real trouble."

After years of calls from the public who wanted the reassurance of seeing more 'bobbies on the beat' police seem to be finally listening.

Supt Burley promises a 'back to basics' approach to tackling crime.

That means more officers on the beat, including dedicated ward managers and support officers.

"We need to be more customer focused which means listening more closely to what people have to say. We have to deal with serious crime but to do that we need the support of the public, so we need to get the basics right.

Police have gained a lot of new powers and weapons in the fight against low-level crime - curfews, drinks bans, anti-social behaviour orders.

"All those powers have to be used fairly. We have to balance the rights of the community against those of the individual. For example, children have to have somewhere to play football."

Although he maintained the overall situation was improving, he admitted there were areas which were much worse.

"Things have got worse in some hot spots," he said, listing parts of New Inn, Blaenavon, Cwmbran Town Centre and Trevethin shops.

"The thing that frustrates me is that I don't have enough resources to have an officer on every corner - we never will have. But we are trying to get back to foot patrols.

"We're trying to meet public expectations and address local needs. It's back to basics policing."