Gordon Hook

Liberal Democrat District Councillor for Buckland and Milber Learn more

Poor Behaviour Reported Far and Wide

by admin on 1 June, 2020

I see on social media that 2 police officers were jeered on Exmouth seafront this weekend as they attempted to disperse a large crowd gathered on the beach.
I have received comments since Saturday up to and including this morning of ” poor behaviour” in different places, most noticeably, but by no means exclusively on our beaches. Parts of Dartmoor also appear to have suffered.
At least two large groups ( 50/60 bodies) apparently held bar b q type parties which evolved into drunken rowdy anti-social behaviour, where members of the public say they felt intimidated, on Teignmouth beaches Fires were left burning.
The quantity of litter left behind was greater than any previous occasion in the experience of Teignbridge Council workers, who this morning from early till the present have been clearing up the mess left behind by, it would seem, virtually everyone who visited a beach over the weekend. At least 80 green bin fulls of detritus were collected from Teignmouth beach alone.
Dog walkers paid no attention to the bye-laws which prohibit dog walking on parts of the beach at this time of the year. Parks in Newton Abbot were heavily littered and similarly, parts of Dartmoor suffered abuse.
In total it may have been a small % of the population who were guilty, but none of this is acceptable. If you bring material of any sort out from home on a picnic or for a barbie, please take it home with you, particularly if the available bins are already overflowing. If you buy a take away to eat on the beach or in the park again, please take the packaging home with you. If the council wasn’t obliged to clear up after the thoughtless, literally millions of pounds of Council Taxpayers money would be saved. Please think about it.
At this point let me thank and praise those members of the public who did act responsibly and also those who collected up some of the rubbish left by others and took it home with them. Many thanks.
I have this morning spoken to both the Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez and the South Devon Area Police Commander about the apparent absence of police in the hot spot trouble areas at the weekend. I appreciate their calls and I anticipate there will be greater police visibility next weekend; here’s hoping.
It appears from perceived trends that respect for law and order, for basic civility and respect for doing the right thing, has been challenged of late. One member of the public, when challenged about some aspect of his anti-social behaviour, is reported to have replied ” Well, I’m not driving to Durham, am I” If our Prime Minister either doesn’t or can’t enforce certain basic standards of behaviour, it’s easy to see why the general public might reject socially sensible and cooperative behaviour and adopt a ” who cares” attitude. This attitude must be reversed and reversed quickly if we are to retain the semblance of respect for others, for the environment and for law and order.

   1 Comment

One Response

  1. Tom Keen says:

    Hear, hear! Although I don’t understand why these apparently uneducated people think that their behaviour can be excused by reference to another example of bad behaviour… Oh yes I do – it’s because they’re still functioning mentally as children, and badly brought-up children at that. Please don’t give their stupidity even a tiny particle of credibility by implying that they have a point!

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