Listen to the original broadcast at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0clcztt
Helen Jones: And also listening to that is Councillor Jo Bird who is part of the Wirral Council. She represents the Bromborough ward, which includes areas under the disposal zone. I’m delighted to say Cllr Bird is with us this afternoon. Welcome to the afternoon show first of all Cllr Bird.
Cllr Jo Bird: Thank you, good afternoon. It’s great to be the Green Councillor for this area that we have been talking about. It’s by no means unique to our area. There are anti-social behaviour problems across the whole country.
HJ: Let’s start then, how concerned are you by what you’ve just heard, and these reports?
JB: I’m very concerned. Clearly throwing bricks at buses, attacking firefighters, smashing windows, and causing harm and distress to the public – is NOT OK. The vast majority of people of all ages are considerate of other people and our environment, and it is disappointing that a small number of people have this anti-social behaviour.
But I’m not convinced, to be honest, that dispersal orders are the way to stop crime from happening. Because it [a dispersal order] does literally disperse it [crime] to another area, pushes it elsewhere, and it can punish a whole community by doing that.
HJ: What do you feel is the answer then, to prevent further incidents?
JB: So I completely agree with the Inspector, to absolutely report specific problems to the authorities – to the Police, your local councillor or through the Council website.
But we also need to look deeper than that and beyond. What is the cause of anti-social behaviour?
One of them clearly is that we have suffered more than a decade of Government cuts to public services. Youth services have been decimated. We need to re-instate free youth facilities for all young people and inclusive open spaces for everybody. And to reform positive relationships with young people, not always blaming or criminalising them as the problem.
HJ: You must be as well Cllr Bird, in the thick of it and hearing feedback from those your represent in the Bromborough Ward, what are some of the things you’re hearing from local residents?
JB: A lot of people are saying that they’re concerned about their children and their children’s future. They feel like their children’s future is being stolen away. That the prospect of decent jobs and decent pay is retreating off the horizon. There is a lack of educational opportunities, the environment is going down, and drug misuse is a big problem as well.
HJ: How are the Council having to deal with these issues then Councillor?
JB: It’s cross-party, cross-community, cross-agency approaches that work on these kinds of issues, in my experience. We all need to be working together. We need to be hearing the voices of young people who are directly affected. Because they are often the targets of crime, as well as older targets of crime also. Crime and anti-social behaviour, isn’t uniquely a young persons problem, there’s plenty of older people crime, for want of a better word.
Also corporate crime. Today we have yet another extreme heatwave caused by climate change. We need to reinvest in renewable [energy], in home insulation, and create the green jobs of the future. Because after the summer heat has gone, families will feel extra cold this winter – while BP and Shell, big corporations, they take away £7 billion and £9 billion pounds in pure profit in the last 3 months – this also is NOT OK…
HJ: Councillor, let’s just go ack onto the question, because I was asking about anti-social behaviour, just want you to draw it back in, because you haven’t got much time. Is there anything you would like to see in addition to the measures already in place regarding anti-social behaviour?
JB: The key barrier to be able to do more to address it [ASB] is cuts and lack of public funding for public services. That’s partly because the multi-national corporations are taking money away. There should be a dispersal order on dirty profits. Profits should come back into the pockets of local authorities, the Police, and of ordinary workers who create the wealth in the first place. We need a super tax on the super rich to pay for measures to decrease anti-social behaviour.
HJ: Cllr Jo Bird, thank you for your time today, and thank you for being with us today on BBC Radio Merseyside.