Police called to complaints of ‘anti-social’ bike-riding group at Westwood

There have been complaints across Thanet about youngsters on bikes riding dangerously

Police officers were called to Westwood Cross today (February 22) to reports of young people on bikes riding in a dangerous manner.

Officers were called at 11.05am to a report that a group of young people were riding bicycles and motorcycles in an antisocial way. The group had split up before police arrived but officers tracked down those believed responsible and gave them advice about their behaviour.

The incident follows a string of complaints across the isle of youngsters on bikes weaving in and out of traffic and in some cases shouting abuse at drivers and pedestrians.

Reports include intimidating behaviour by groups at sainsbury’s Westwood Cross and outside McDonalds where there were complaints of a group of bike-riding youngsters spitting on cars.

Police crackdown

Last November  a 15-year-old boy from Ramsgate was charged with failing to comply with the dispersal order following a crackdown by police in Westwood.

The teenager was arrested and charged and more than 10 children spoken to by officers following reports of anti-social behaviour in the area.

A number of 48-hour dispersal orders were previously put in place between October 19-27 as part of work responding to concerns about nuisance cycling and disturbances caused in both the pedestrianised areas of the retail parks as well as Northwood Road, Star Avenue, Poorhole Lane and Westwood Road.

The dispersal orders give officers extra powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to tackle nuisance behaviour and order the culprits to leave the area. If they return to the area within a specified time, they can be arrested. During that week officers from the Thanet Community Policing Team with Police Community Support Officers dispersed 13 children aged between 12 and 16, and three bicycles were seized by officers for nuisance riding.

Sergeant Neil Fuller from Thanet Community Policing Team said: “While we have no problem if young people want to be out on their bikes, this particular approach is concerning and puts both them and others at risk from injury.”

11 Comments

  1. It’s about time the police man-up with these yobs. I think they are trying to copy the criminals on motor scooters in London who caused havoc for months before the met police woke up to the problem. The bikes should be taken off them and crushed. All this softly softly never works with idiots. Their parents or guardians should also be held responsible for their kids actions.

  2. These kids are also riding recklessly along Northdown Rd through to Northdown Park and back often. On back wheel only weaving in and out of traffic, holding traffic up, riding towards oncoming busses causing them to stop suddenly. It is dangerous and needs to be stopped whenever seen. There is a craze on Youtube with following what others are filming themselves doing in Central London and other areas too. It’s silly and stupid behaviour.

  3. I have had 3 incidents regarding these bikes having to break hard to avoid hitting them also complained to St Georges school as this happened around the school but had no response

  4. I worked at Sainsbury’s for a while the car park undercover was always invaded by yobs on bikes security didn’t do anything. Always got ignored nothing was done kids on bikes riding about in the way of cars.

    • Broadstairs resident, Security officials are not police, they don’t have police powers… they have the same powers as ordinary joe public. They can ask the teenagers to stop and leave and if they don’t listen then obviously the police will be called.. but will it be a police priority when there are budget cuts to the police force? Also when the police turn up to incidents with kids, how many times do they get laughed at and run rings around because the police themselves are restricted with regards to what they can do with them? I think you need to reflect upon who you are pointing the finger at here. If you think you can do better than anyone else with this situation then perhaps you should show everyone how it’s done? It’s always easy to judge what you don’t know and when you don’t see the bigger picture.

    • Just read the responses to your comment. As residents of thanet, customers at west wood cross or staff,we all have the right to an option. I’m left wondering what is the point of shop security if they can not tackle problems on their land. As for the police, surely they could be more proactive. I have driven through Westwood behind a police car that drove straight past a group of kids on bikes. They didn’t even stop. No wonder kids like that have no respect for authority if they are not challenged. I know nothing about specific roles in security but I am wondering why these people wear a uniform. Is it really only to check for shop lifters.

  5. Thanet guy is correct. The police themselves are virtually powerless with little scope to punish feral kids so what hope has a security guard got.
    Liberal judges and politicians overly concerned with political correctness have handed power to feral kids and petty criminals.
    Community sentencing does not work and is not a deterrent. Perhaps if the parents of these feral kids were made accountable for the kids actions things might be different but until that happens the scum will continue to run the streets.

  6. Whatever happened to the “community payback” where offenders were sent out to litter pick rubbish from the grass verges and streets to do their unpaid work. From what I understand they are now sent to cosy little charity shop‘s.

      • Yes Andrew, I agree – more especially now that some mindless moron(s) stole and destroyed TDC’s FIDO (dog shit vacuum machine).

        200 hours of community payback, picking up dog shit should be enough to focus the mind that anti-social behaviour is not acceptable and that such behaviour has its consequences.

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