By Fionnuala Bourke
West Midlands Police PCSO鈥檚 have been working with Dudley Council Street Officers to tackle Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) in Dudley Town Centre.
Local officers attended training alongside council officers for the public space protection order that is in place and they. They also carried out joint patrols with their partners.
Police explained how a derelict property in Dudley town centre had recently become a hotspot for ASB, becoming an ideal shelter for homeless sleepers.
They said that the rough sleepers had issues around substance abuse, mental health and poor hygiene.
鈥淭heir presence was leading to gatherings and shoplifters congregating around this area and using the pub next door to sell stolen goods,鈥 a WMP spokesperson said.
鈥淭hrough joint working and access to Council services, this area was soon cleaned and boarded up, preventing further access to this space.鈥
WMP said that since boarding the area up, they have received positive feedback from locals and confirmation that they have not suffered from any issues.
However the rough sleepers attempted to move to another location but due to the joint patrols WMP officers were able to remove bedding and deter the homeless from causing the same issues.
The Council Homeless Team were then able to offer the rough sleeper鈥檚 accommodation.
Chris Pyke, Neighbourhood Policing Supervisor said: 鈥淭he joint patrols have allowed our officers to quickly identify areas suffering from ASB and resolve the issues before they become a bigger problem for the public and local businesses.
鈥淲orking together enables us to understand each other鈥檚 specialist roles and then choose the most appropriate resource to tackle the issues.鈥