Police commissioner speaks to Shirley business owners as she vows to tackle crime
It comes after business owners have been subjected to five months of vandalism and verbal abuse from a group of teenagers, which in some cases has seen them be on the receiving end of racist remarks.
Speaking to the Echo in Shirley Precinct after meeting with the affected business owners and members of the council, PCC Donna Jones outlined plans to tackle anti-social behaviour in the area, which included private security guards patrolling the high street, the implementation of CCTV cameras in the precinct, and increased police patrols in the region.
PCC Donna Jones said: 'I've got a clear message for the young people who are involved in this criminality, it stops now.
'What these businesses have been through over the last five months is completely unacceptable, they are closing their businesses during the day, they're putting the shutters down, we have a gang of young people causing chaos and havoc, committing racially aggravated assaults, enough is enough.
'I'm going to be funding extra CCTV to go around the high street, I'll be funding probably two security guards who will be patrolling the high street during the core hours the shops are open, and they'll be a step up in police patrols here.
'We've got a crown prosecutor from the CPS who we hope to bring onboard as a key partner to make sure they understand what is going on here in terms of the levels of harm and organised criminality, and we'll be following up today's meeting in a few weeks to see if things have calmed down.'
READ MORE: Phone Hub manager 'under attack' from teenagers in Shirley
PCC Donna Jones in Shirley(Image: Matt Davey)
The police and crime commissioner is set to meet with business owners again in four weeks' time, to see if any progress has been made in tackling anti-social behaviour and further outlining her action plan.
Business owners in the precinct hailed the plans as a 'positive step forward,' but expressed frustration that the crime they'd experienced in the area hadn't been tackled sooner.
Nnenna Okonkwo, owner of Sunnyday International Foods, said: 'Today is a positive step forward.
'We've needed some help for a while and it was good to talk about everything today with the police commissioner, we hope the changes she's mentioned will have a positive impact on the area and end the abuse shop owners have been facing.'
Naani Shaik, manager of Subway in Shirley Precinct, added: 'We've experienced mental torture on a daily basis.
'I wish we could have had this meeting weeks ago but today was constructive.
'Today, I've seen more police patrols in the precinct, and I hope that continues tomorrow.'
Leader of Southampton City Council and ward councillor for Shirley, Alexander Winning, said crime was 'unacceptable,' and sympathised with the issues businesses have been facing.
He said: 'I know there's been a lot of issues in the last five months with anti-social behaviour but it's more than that, businesses have been terrorised.
'It's not okay and needs to stop. Today was appositive meeting, we've got some agreed actions that we'll be taking forward, it was shocking to hear first hand what businesses have gone through, it's not right.
'Shirley is a welcoming place, and it should be welcoming for everyone.'
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