| Subject |
Bournemouth labelled a 'Respect' Zone as 74 PCSO's are
cut from Dorset Constabulary
|
| Ref |
PR/07-101 |
| Date |
Tuesday 22nd January
2007 |
Tobias Ellwood has written to the Home Secretary to protest over
the Government's decision to label Bournemouth a 'Respect Zone'
along with towns such as Bradford, Bolton and Middlesborough.
The zones were chosen for reasons including high levels of deprivation,
crime, truancy and school exclusion and this is not the sort of
image our seaside town should be branded with.
Commenting on the Government's announcement Tobias said: "Bournemouth
is known for a number of things; seven miles of sandy beaches, a
growing financial district, a thriving town centre and an attractive
place to live, work or visit. Yes, there are areas with challenges,
but this should not take away from the overall positive image which
makes Bournemouth the most popular seaside resort in the country.
We should not be twinned with Bradford, Middlesbrough and Bolton
and we should not be grouped with the top 40 worst areas for anti-social
behavior in Britain.
This is another gimmick from a Government who continue to believe
a top down approach to solving local problems is the answer.
Since 1997 truancy is up, crime has risen, binge drinking is reaching
a critical level, obesity is on the rise, family breakdown is on
the increase, prisoner re-offending is up and, teenage pregnancy
rates are the highest in Europe. These are national statistics that
reflect a Government's failure to stem anti-social behavior (now
costing Britain £3.4bn a year) but do not reflect the situation
in Bournemouth."
This Government has done our town a dis-service and I hope we are
able to rid ourselves of this label as soon as possible."
Ironically this 'good news story' comes at a time when the Home
Office is under increasing scrutiny and at the same time as the
Government has conceded that Dorset is to receive 74 less Community
Support Officers than was expected. This shows how hollow the 'Respect'
Agenda is.
It remains unclear how much Government funding all the respect
zones will receive. Bournemouth already has a reputation for pioneering
a number of series of initiatives designed to tackle anti-social
behaviour and all those involved in these projects are to be congratulated
and supported.
|
