COMMUNITY chiefs have admitted that they need to break the cycle of “boredom” that is causing youths to carry out the type of anti-social behaviour that’s been blighting a Dundee housing scheme.
Whitfield has been plagued in recent weeks by incidents of deliberate fire-raising, vandalisms and even stones being thrown at buses travelling through the area.
This led to the police, fire service, bus firm Xplore Dundee, community safety wardens and other organisations holding an engagement day for local kids and families.
The event was designed to try to prevent some of the problems — and get youngsters more involved in improving the area.
PC Jo Swankie, community officer, told the Tele: “We want to engage people here and raise the sense of community spirit — encouraging people, especially young people, to take pride in their environment and not to vandalise the park and other areas.
“Police have been addressing the issues of bin fires and vandalism in the area and involving parents in the process, which is also why housing representatives were here.
“We want the playpark to be a focal point of what we are trying to do here.
“Buses were having problems with vandalism and kids throwing stones at them, which is why people from the bus company were also here. We wanted to emphasise that they provide a vital service for the community.”
Holly Anderson, a youth officer with the council’s anti-social behaviour team, said: “There have been a lot of issues with fire-setting and vandalism and this event helps us to connect with people and to get them to see that we’re here to help. We are trying to target teenagers and have been visiting the homes of those who’ve had their names taken or received cautions, and I would like to see them getting more involved in community regeneration projects.”
Asked what may be behind such behaviour, fellow youth officer Andrea Ross told the Tele: “I think it comes down to boredom and a lack of engagement. There are things like the drop-in centres in Stobswell or The Corner that do great work, and we really need something like that here.”
Fire bosses are working to tackle deliberate blazes in the area, and John Wade — community safety officer for Dundee — said: “These spates can happen in any area at any time, but what we try to focus on is education.
“What we have seen success with is letting young people know that there are only six fire provisions in Dundee, where they usually assume there are around 20.
“This highlights the fact that by losing one to a small bin fire, we may be delayed in reaching a serious incident and this could cost lives.”