Officers from both the States police and the St Brelade’s honorary force have increased their presence in the area following problems at a number of sites overnight, including La Moye School and Communicare.
The move follows a plea for help from the manager of the Communicare Pre-School after groups of young people repeatedly scaled its perimeter fence and damaged play equipment as well as leaving cigarette butts and other rubbish behind.
St Brelade Centenier Amanda Wright said that anyone caught by her officers could face prosecution.
‘Officers have been on patrol every night last week and at the weekend. Hopefully, this will make people realise that if they do go out to cause trouble, their chances of getting caught will be much higher,’ she said.
‘It is just not acceptable, we will clamp down on it and if we catch anyone causing any damage we will be looking at taking them to court.’
Mrs Wright said that she was now asking parents of children and teenagers living in the Les Quennevais area to speak to their children and find out what they were doing in the evenings.
She added: ‘If they suspect anything, they should tell them that when they were little they benefitted from playing on unbroken equipment so why should their little cousins and family friends not be able to benefit from that too?
‘We have also had reports of someone breaking into a charity clothing bank which is appalling behaviour. Although there is no direct victim, those clothes are being put there to benefit somebody else.’
The Centenier also said that she would be deploying all available officers ahead of Halloween next Thursday and urged those going out to take part in the festivities to be mindful of other people.
‘For some people, it is a really miserable experience and they hate having their doors knocked on,’ she said
‘Many of those taking part do not know the personal circumstances of some of the people’s doors that they are knocking on and I would ask them to be aware of that, especially today with the growing awareness of mental health.
‘Go out and have fun but do it in a respectful manner.’
Mrs Wright said that those taking part should only knock on the doors of houses which had been decorated – where it was clear that they were taking part. And she advised those who did not wish to have their doors knocked on to display a polite notice outside their homes.
Any anti-social behaviour incidents should be reported to the St Brelade honorary police on 741175.
