COMMENT: Policing should be hard and equal across the city

That’s the reality of the situation in Nether Edge, after South Yorkshire Police found themselves dealing with bonfire night chaos.

That night last year, officers were inundated with incidents throughout the evening: fireworks being thrown at cars, hurled into the road and general problems of anti-social behaviour.

Some officers were even injured and left with burns after being hit by rockets.

Fast forward four months, and police reveal they made 15 arrests in response to the issues in a push dubbed Operation Satellite.

The police should be applauded for the hard line they have taken in response to the incidents.

By all accounts, the problem has diminished in the area since the arrests were made.

The moral is clear: dedicate some (stretched) resources, take a no-nonsense approach and the trouble will reduce.

The community deserves praise in equal measure.

Community leaders in Nether Edge have grouped together to weed out the issues in the area.

They have called public meetings to discuss the issue and they have worked as a collective to gather information and feed it to local police and councillors in an effort to tackle the problems.

It is a perfect example of community working which could and should be adopted on estates across Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

But the community’s efforts cannot work in isolation; they need the appropriate response from those with the power to do something about it – the police.

In this instance the force deserves a pat on the back for its hard work.

Those living on Meersbrook Road might have hoped for the same treatment.

On Tuesday, The Star reported that a gang had ransacked Heeley and Meersbrook allotments, robbing items before trashing the building.

They were left reeling after reporting that the police did not attend, despite the break-in being reported several times.

Good policing should be praised, but equally, a lack of response should come in for criticism.

When a group of allotment holders report these kind of devastating crimes, it’s only fair that they get the same kind of response the Nether Edge community has.