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Belfast Council is to set up a group to tackle the growing levels of criminality and violence in the city centre, with individual councillors urging the police and Stormont ministers to do more. Elected members backed a proposal by Sinn Féin to set up a new “multi-agency” group at the October meeting of the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources. It comes amidst increasing reports of group violence, individual attacks and drug taking in the city core. Sinn Féin Councillor Ciaran Beattie told the committee on Friday (October 24): "Some of the parties here were in attendance at the meeting called by (the Business Improvement District) Belfast One. You have probably seen the videos on social media, in particular the attack outside the Castle Court building. READ MORE: Council confirms historic Belfast Assembly Rooms officially back in public ownership READ MORE: Belfast "Under the Bridges" project aims to transform space under flyover into urban sports park “I attended the meeting myself and I have to say some of the stories coming from the trainers were horrifying. These are people who have invested a lot of their own money into the city centre, trying to create jobs, trying to bring people into the city centre. They are not feeling safe, and their staff is not feeling safe.” He proposed the council “take the lead” and establish a multi-agency group “bringing all the interested parties on board." He said: “There is obviously a long-term approach to this, but there is a short-term fix we need. We have to look at the tools we have now to try and reduce the levels of crime and violence in the city centre.” He added: “We have raised it umpteen times about the Castle Street area, where there has been an accepted level of violence, where the council and other bodies have not done what they should be doing. "We have engaged with traders for years in the Castle Street area - if you listen to some of their stories, they are horrifying. When they are opening their businesses early in the morning, human waste and needles are at their front door. “One of the traders at the Belfast One meeting said that because of the negative media, they had cancellations that day. It is important we bring people into the city, and that we sell the city in a positive way, but it is also important we counter the levels of criminality and violence. I think we can do it collectively, I don’t think any of us are on different pages on this, so we need to work together and get a resolution.” Green Party Councillor Brian Smyth said he was “fully supportive” of the proposal. He said: “There are multiple issues here and we need a short-term resolution. There was someone in the city centre last Friday night on a scrambler weaving in and out of people. Someone was arrested on a scrambler on Saturday night. “I don’t know why the police did not respond on Friday, because that area is heavily CCTV’d. It is vital we give confidence to people in the run-up to Christmas , and retail is struggling. We need the police to step up here.” He added: “I wonder if there is anything our Safer Neighborhood Officers can do? I know they don't have statutory powers, but I think them being there sends a signal of confidence. I know they finish at 10 to 11pm, I wonder if there is any way to bring it to 12 midnight or 1am.” He said: “I have also noted the amount of cars parked on pavements all along Royal Avenue, I think that is off-putting as well. The pavements have to be cleared. “There are groups of maybe 30 to 40 young people on bikes, cycling around, some of them with balaclavas and ski-masks on. The perception is that (the city centre) is not welcoming, and we need to counteract that.” Alliance Councillor Michael Long said: “We have had a number of agencies and groups, and we keep coming round to the same issues, but I am not sure we have made a lot of progress. I still feel the post-Primark fire way of dealing with things, that is having very senior people involved, alongside the council, is really what we need. “The problem has been we don’t necessarily get the level of support from other agencies at the highest levels, and there doesn’t seem to be an awful lot of interest from some of the (Stormont) departments.” He said: “Royal Avenue is not in great shape, and part of that problem is that the (Stormont) Department for Communities and others do not provide the cleansing and street furniture. There are other issues with the Department for Infrastructure regarding the road services and other things. There are a wide range of groups that need to come together. “It is going to take a long time, and obviously there are the underlying issues of homelessness and drug addiction in the city. They are very complex, but we do have a Complex Lives programme that is doing a great job. But we need to do more on the drug problem, and that is where we have to learn from other places.” He supported the Sinn Féin proposal, and said: “We definitely have a role, and I think it is a convening role.” Councillor Beattie said: “There are different elements in this. Obviously there is a drug issue, people travelling into the city centre to sell drugs, and drug users sitting in doorways with their trousers down, with needles hanging out of their groins, which isn’t good. There are obviously people who we have to put our arms around, who are vulnerable, and we should try our best to help them, but there is also a level of crime that can’t be tolerated, particularly around drugs. “There is a group of what is called transient youth, which one night will be in Townsend Street, then at Broadway Roundabout, then Girdwood, and now the city centre, which has become a meeting point. We need to find a way to tackle that, because we are talking about 60 to 100 young people, some of them on scramblers, wearing masks. It is very intimidating , particularly for visitors to the city. They are pelting tourists with eggs. For the police to say, “just move on” is not good. We need to develop a strategy.” He concluded: “It is going to do massive damage to the economy if we don’t resolve it.” A council officer said the council were “struggling” with the transient youth groups as they could not assign youth workers. He added: “Part of this is around the PSNI response, and they have limited resources. “For Safer Neighbour Officers to have some extended time later at night, I don’t think that would be appropriate, they are more early intervention. Currently they work Tuesday to Saturday, and we are recruiting at the minute. In late November we are looking to change it to Tuesday 8am to 6pm, Wednesday and Thursday 8am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 8am to 11pm. We only have the 12 SNO’s and we are seeing if we can get additional resources.” He said: “I know things are difficult in the city centre, but we are at this stage trying our best to try to connect across the board. For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter
