Potters Bar and Shenley

The new priorities for May to August are as follows:

• Anti-social behaviour in the Darkes Lane area
• Tackling burglaries across the area through enforcement and crime prevention engagement

Residents previously asked us to focus on the following issues:

- Address speeding in Potters Bar and Shenley

- Continue work to tackle anti-social behaviour in Darkes Lane, Potters Bar

Address speeding in Potters Bar and Shenley...

Numerous speeding operations have been carried out, with over 800 vehicles checked. A number of tickets were issued, in addition to warnings given to drivers who were found to be speeding.

Continue work to tackle anti-social behaviour in Darkes Lane, Potters Bar...

Ten young people have been given banning orders, preventing them from entering McDonalds for 6 months. We’ve been working closely with McDonalds and like many of their other branches, they’ve introduced classical music to create a calmer environment and deter anti-social behaviour. Two people who persistently entered McDonalds, despite being banned were subsequently issued with Acceptable Behaviour Agreements (ABAs). This involved them attending the police station with their parents and their actions were discussed. The ABAs exclude them from a specific area on Darkes Lane and they were given a map which makes clear where the exclusion area is.

Regular patrols have been carried out, particularly after school and during school holidays. The high visibility of officers has been a deterrent and given us a chance to engage with residents whilst on foot patrols. They’ve told us they’ve been pleased with our presence and felt reassured.

We’ve also carried out joint engagement with Revenue Officers at the train station who had reported young people pushing through the barriers. Knife sweeps have also been carried out in the area and a teenager from London was arrested and charged with possession of a knife/bladed article.