Bus station dispersal order to be extended
The Council say that the Hammersmith bus station dispersal order is proving so successful that they are extending the order for another three months.
For the last three months the Police and H&F Council have been working together to fight the power that the yobs and louts have had over the Hammersmith Bus Station.
The original no go zone went live in September 2006 and since then complaints about rival gangs meeting at Broadway have been reduced. Following on from the claimed success of this period, the extension of the dispersal order was finalised on Monday 20 March. The station hasn't been completely incident free since the order was imposed. In one case a member of station staff had to be taken to hospital after confronting a gang of youths who were allowing their pitbulls to rampage through the station.
Councillor Greg Smith, cabinet member for crime & anti-social behaviour said, "We are winning the battle against hooligans in the borough who are loitering around the bus station, with nothing better to do than intimidate other passengers, they have been warned."
The extension of the zone means Police can continue to banish troublemakers if they are causing or are likely to cause intimidation, harassment, alarm or distress. If they refuse to go, they will be apprehended.
Local resident, Jenny Butler has commended the scheme saying. "The bus station now feels a lot safer. There are fewer yobs hanging around, they used to be very intimidating.
"The reign of terror for residents using the Hammersmith bus station is now coming to an end. We have a zero tolerance approach when it comes to dealing with these menaces and will continue to fight until we have secured safety for our borough," added Cllr Smith.
April 13, 2007