| She said recent episodes of trouble had been nipped in the bud by the police, and young people had, in general, been behaving well and been involved in positive pursuits.
Councillor Fordyce was speaking in response to complaints from householders around Baxter Park Terrace and Park Avenue who were unhappy at the sight of youngsters standing in groups in the park and on street corners.
“They seem to have felt threatened by their presence and have linked this to some recent problems we have had in the area,” she said.
“Last week there was some trouble with a group of kids riding their bikes and there was some vandalism caused to the ranger station in the park.
“I know that with the first problem the police were on the scene straight away. They took the kids and their bikes to Maryfield police station.
“They noted the youngsters’ names and addresses and phoned their parents, who were told what had happened before being allowed to take their children home.
“It turned out that one of the kids was not from the Baxter Park area but had come on his bike from some distance away.”
Mrs Fordyce said the other incident involved graffiti sprayed on the ranger station at the weekend.
Police have taken photographs of the paint marks and are trying to link it to the work of other graffiti artists they know about.
They are intending to take the matter further, she said, and arrangements have also been made to clean the graffiti.
Councillor Fordyce continued, “There are a lot of good things happening with the youngsters in the Baxter Park area and I am eager for these things to continue.
“We have football at the sports centre on Thursday and Friday nights and other things involving the police and youth workers, and these are all proving popular.
“We’re also getting a lot of support from the new rector at Morgan Academy who is urging his pupils to take pride in their area by not dropping litter and such like.
“There are kids in the area, they are our future and we want to give them a chance.
“Adults out walking their dogs in the park shouldn’t feel threatened if they see groups of youngsters there too.
“They’re probably just chatting, playing or having fun.
“We’re constantly being told about how harmful it is for kids to be cooped up indoors playing with computers, watching television and doing other inactive things.
“It’s good for them to be outside doing things, and I think we have to be more tolerant and give them a chance.” |
