Streetlife

There are Beat Police and Community Police around Yarmouth, I saw two yesterday in the market place and often see others around or on the outskirts of town sometimes.

They can't be everywhere at once and no-one is going to do anything if they see them coming, they will just wait until the police have gone. They patrol in the areas where trouble could be expected but are not supermen who will know where the next crime or altercation is going to be. They are also doing a lot of good work in arresting people dealing/growing drugs, they can't do much about drunks unless there is a fight or assault.

It's a shame your daughter and yourself should see what you did, but you don't say that you took your daughter away or in another direction, so it sounds to me that maybe you were watching what was happening as well?

That there are, but there are also PCSOs who always seem to be walking in the opposite direction to where they would put themselves if they had any common sense. Outside schools at start and finish time might be a good idea instead of reacting to the paranoia of some residents when a few teenagers gather together on open spaces Or instead of making it their job to take their less than qualified selves  to lecture school children when there are teachers who actually have A levels and degrees and child education qualifications to do that. Some might see the eagerness of the police to put themselves in school as an intrusion into children's privacy and that they might be better employed on the streets watching the growing number of disfunctional people who move into the borough for cheap housing. I take issue with the UKIP police commissioner candidate who seemed to imply that it was unemployment amongst local young people that causes crime in GY. I think this is a slur on the local people hard hit by the economic downturn . Yes we have home grown criminals but I think we have more than our fair share of people who would be drunks and criminals wherever they live who have decided to live in Yarmouth. The town is becoming rougher and rougher, we had got rid of the street drunks  Class A addict  beggars we had over a decade ago.  it seems to me that we need a task force of the council, police  and other government agencies to try to drag the place up by the boot straps by enforcing all the by laws and rules available to them in respect of property use and maintenance, employees and tenants,licensing and disorderly behaviour.

Putting homeless people in the same bracket as druggies and drunks is a shocking thing to say. Being homeless is not a crime. 

I used to do a lot of work with the homeless in GY (on a voluntary basis) and, in 2005, through leaving a bad relationship, became "homeless" in GY. Myself and my daughter were put into b&b accommodation at the time, I considered us to be very lucky.
I met a lot of people living in b&b accommodation, one family of 6 had been sharing one room for over a year and were grateful for it! 
We have far too many people sleeping on the beach in all weathers. I would just like to point out that becoming homeless (especially in this economic climate) is becoming more and not less common and it only takes a matter of getting ill and unable to work for 2-3 months to turn a happily plodding along family into those homeless beggars you seem to have such an issue with. I would suggest a little compassion and empathy would be more useful and productive. There are many reasons people end up on the streets, children and adults often fleeing abusive situations or having health problems that make them unable to deal with finances ect. 
There is a huge need for volunteers to help vulnerable people in the community as funding is being withdrawn or reduced to organisations that offer help and services to those in need.  

I have chaired a SNAP panel in Gorleston for several years now and whilst I can't speak for the GY police (and personally I have mainly had negative experiences with the GY police) but I can tell you that in Gorleston the SNT do spend as much time as they can on the beat for both the preventative and public confidence reasons. The introduction of PCSO's was intended as a link between the police and the public  (because a lot of people wouldn't want to be seen talking to a proper copper"). They have a very valuable role in the community.
I'm pretty sure the CCTV systems here are mainly manned by trained civilian volunteers to free up paid staff and the police are always looking  for volunteer "specials". 
I personally believe that considering the cuts in their budgets in recent years they are doing a fantastic job. 
My local SNAP panel often struggle to find priorities to set for the local SNT now because they have been so effective in the years that they have been running public meetings and this is reflected in the crime figures. I was at a meeting Wednesday evening and the crime figures in Gorleston East are dramaticly down on the same period last year despite the cuts and changes they have been through.

When it comes to drinking on the streets I have seen the GY police confiscate and empty drink into the drains several times in the big park, I am not sure what else they can do unless they break the law and it is not illegal to be homeless-maybe if it was there would be more money invested in homelessness prevention and more shelters and hostels would be built.

I can only suggest that as a concerned resident you do something about your dissatisfaction and get involved to help make your area a safe and pleasant place to be or perhaps you donate some of your time to help the homeless people that live on the beach and under stairwells, sometimes fear can be reduced by understanding, not having a home does not stop you from being a human being and as such someone who is homeless still deserves the same respect and dignity as someone living in a mansion. 
Many homeless people die every winter because they don't even have a basic shelter to sleep under, children and oap's are also included in this, not just young drunks and druggies. 
This is a time of year where counting your blessings is made so much easier when you see the real suffering happening on our streets.

As I said there is a huge need to members of the public to step up and start helping out, most organisations offer training and expences and most community meetings are organised to accommodate any member of the public to attend-for example. My SNAP panel meet for just a couple of hours one every 2 months, it is not much of a commitment but the value of the work makes a real difference. The meetings are held in the evening because the majority of people who attend work during the day. :D

Naomi R   Well said. I firmly believe that the problems in this town are no worse than a few years ago. It is just that they are reported more, what with all the advances in technology, i.e. the internet where you can read news practically as it happens. As you said homelessness is not a crime, and unfortunately it is getting worse at the present time what with all the cuts and things. 
I only said the other day in another post of mine, my estate, the Middlegate is nowhere near as bad as it was 10 years ago. The Council have done an amazing job together with the police and other agencies to clean the area up. Admittedly we still have a few problems but these cannot be blamed on the homeless. None of the problems we had in the past were down to them either. It was always down to the tenants involved in these activities who had a roof over their heads. 
I agree with you that more money needs to be invested in social housing, but this government seem to be more interested in other less important things, and not interested in the people who elected them.

All people have to do is be law abiding and everywhere will be great!

Pam D  But you don't  say that you took your daughter away or in another direction, so it sounds to me that maybe you were watching what was happening as well?

What are you trying to say  of course i saw it i walked out of Iceland and it was smack in front of me i did not stand there watching it  i quickly turned the other way and walked a different way home to protect my daughter from seeing it , How dare you tell me what i did who do you think you are . Please if you have anything to say falling my comment please do but do not assume any different from what i said . I was in shock to see it and put it on here for people to be aware and your comment i think is rude and you have no idea what your talking about .

If my comment upset you I apologise but it is easy to misread your comment, you didn't say you took your daughter and walked away, you only said you distracted her and neither did you say that you walked out of Iceland and saw it.

My apologies again for misreading your comment and coming to the conclusion that you were anything other than a responsible mother trying to shield her child from a nasty occurence.

Well done Charlotte B :) too many people assume things without knowing the full story, and jump to all sorts of conclusions that are usualy wrong