‘We won’t tolerate anti-social behaviour’: Glasgow top cop issues warning on tackling city centre youth disorder

Chief Inspector Natalie Carr will be in charge of one of the city’s busiest beats and top of her agenda will be tackling problems involving youth disorder.

Social media videos have recently emerged of fights involving young people in locations such as St Enoch’s Square and Buchanan Street but Chief Inspector Carr insists it is a small minority who are causing problems.

READ MORE: Police increase Glasgow city centre patrols in crackdown on anti-social behaviour

She said: "Some of the things we’ll be working on in the next wee while is around youth disorder.

"There’s been a lot of young people congregating in the city centre, and it’s really important we don’t victimise all young people because they’re not all there to cause trouble, however, there is that small minority who unfortunately we need to robustly police.

She added: "We won’t tolerate anti-social behaviour but it’s really important to me that we engage with these young people and find out a wee bit more about them, what brings them to the city centre, and what we can do to support them."

Packed with experience, Chief Inspector Carr is no stranger to youth disorder.

She was part of an operation which dealt with underage youths drinking in Kelvingrove Park during the summer months.

As a result of the alcohol misuse, there was disorder in the West End park.

READ MORE: Police called to St Enoch and Argyle Street after youths cause disorder

The former area commander for Glasgow North West said: "I had an operation in place in Kelvingrove Park which I’m delighted to say was a real success.

"It was a focal point for a number of years for youths to congregate which did result in anti-social behaviour, so working with Glasgow City Council we put some really quite robust policing plans in place around the park to prevent repeated incidents.

"First Bus and British Transport Police (BTP) were key to that, and we’ve got direct links with them so they could very quickly tell us that the train or bus was full, so we very quickly identified how many numbers were expected into the park and got the resources that were needed."

Police also engaged with local residents to get information that helped direct where to put officers and issued appeals in the media due to some young people putting themselves into vulnerable positions due to alcohol misuse.

Chief Inspector Carr said: "It was slightly different [to the city centre] because it was contained in Kelvingrove Park, but the tactics we used will be replicated here, particularly around the use of Community Enforcement Officers, BTP, First Bus, Barnardo’s, and through our community council meetings.

"Early engagement is key for me, so the community police officers for the areas where young people are coming from, I’m looking for engagement with them before they even get into the city centre."

READ MORE: Glasgow top cop warns antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated at Kelvingrove Park

She has recently taken over at Stewart Street as the city’s area commander, replacing Chief Inspector Ross Kelly.

With more than 25 years of experience as a police officer across a variety of roles, Chief Inspector Carr is ready to take on the challenge.

She said: "The city centre is vibrant, it’s a new challenge for me.

"I was previously the Partnerships Chief Inspector for Greater Glasgow as well, so I’ve got really good links with the council, with Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnerships who we worked really closely with, and all the different partner agencies so I’m delighted to take it on.

"Ross [Kelly] was the Chief Inspector here and prior to that he was also the Community Inspector here as well so before he left, I spent a lot of time downloading him for his knowledge and I’m delighted to say that Ross has got lots of really well-established plans in place that work, so for me it’s just about making I sure I pick up on them as well as he did."

With the city centre back in full use, traditional crimes are making a comeback and they are back on the agenda for Chief Inspector Carr.

She said: "We’ve got some days of action planned on retail crime as shops are back open, that will obviously see an increase in thefts, so we’ve got some days of action planned around that.

"We’ve had some complaints locally around about car enthusiasts in the evenings in the city so again we’re linking with our road policing colleagues looking at days of action there.

"We’ve also had a couple of complaints recently round about some of the cyclists.

"Delivery cyclists are everywhere, they’ve got to obey by the laws of the road, but there’s a wee bit of work needed round about that, we’ve had some concerns."

While there will be "robust" but "proportionate" policing in the city centre where needed, Chief Inspector Carr highlights that police are also there to support those who want to come and enjoy the city’s culture, shops and nightlife.

She said: "We want the city to be used safely by everybody to enjoy.

"Young people are putting themselves in vulnerable positions which is worrying for us all, so whilst the vast majority come to enjoy the city, and we welcome their continued support, that small minority who do intend spoiling it for others will be targeted and we’ve got well-established plans in place which support the city and wider."