Ecclesall Road: Angry residents harangue police at stormy meeting over teenage crime wave in Sheffield

Angry residents harangued police and council officials at a stormy meeting over a teenage crime wave in Sheffield.

At a meeting on Wednesday night, up to 60 people vented frustrations after months of alleged robberies, theft from shops and anti-social behaviour in and around Endcliffe Park.

Last week police were called out after a large group of children were reportedly involved in a disturbance and stones were thrown at a property on Ecclesall Road.

Councillor Barbara Masters, who helped organise the meeting at Lost and Found bar, said Insp Amy Mellors and her boss, and Lorraine Wood, the council’s director of communities, faced questions.

And from what she heard she believed the problem had been tackled.

Coun Masters said: “I think everything that can reasonably be done has been done. I think the residents most directly affected felt their concerns had been acknowledged and they were being addressed by the police and council.

“But it will take a few weeks or months for the fears and tensions in the community to get back to normal.”

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Issues that came up included victims failing to formally report incidents to the police, who are investigating just three cases that were apparently linked, she added.

And letters to families from seven schools about children being robbed had been issued without involving the police or council and had “heightened general fears.”

A resident who attended the meeting posted on a local Facebook forum: “I do believe there is on going work behind the scenes regarding this situation and that lessons have been learnt (the hard way).”

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said at the meeting officers listened to victims and assured residents patrols had increased in the area, including mounted officers.

They added: “Officers confirmed that there are still several open, ongoing investigations that we cannot discuss and that specialist detective resources have been assigned to this.

“Officers added that there is a lot of multi-agency work taking place with partners with a view to long-term prevention and intervention. They confirmed that specific families/individuals would not be discussed in an open forum.

“Finally, officers noted that despite recent incidents, Ecclesall has one of the lowest crime rates in the South West – this can be verified on Police.uk.”

Sheffield City Council’s interim director of communities, Lorraine Wood, said: “It was vital to attend the community meeting with the residents of Ecclesall ward and listen to their accounts and concerns so we can work with them and offer reassurance that they are being heard. All reports of anti-social behaviour are taken seriously and we do understand the potential impacts this type of behaviour can have on individuals and communities.

“As was stated on Tuesday evening alongside representatives of our partners South Yorkshire Police, we cannot comment on individual cases and circumstances.

“However, we wanted to outline what we have been and continue to do in the area to offer reassurances to those who live and work there, as well as those who enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Endcliffe Park, that as a council we take all instances of anti-social behaviour seriously. We encourage anyone who falls victim to such incidents to continue to report them to the authorities so that a complete picture can be built.”

She added:

• Sheffield City Council has developed a new anti-social behaviour policy following public consultation which was formally adopted at the communities parks and leisure committee meeting in March.
• Additional sustainable communities officer (wardens) patrols have been in the area around Endcliffe Park and Ecclesall Road to provide visible assurance and to gather evidence as required
• Youth teams will be in the area linking with schools to ensure young residents feel safe walking to and from school and in the park itself
• Money secured from the safer streets fund has been spent on an extension of CCTV coverage
• Business information officers have been supporting businesses in the area
• We continue to support South Yorkshire Police in any way we can with their enquiries