Police are “reluctant” to arrest anti-social drinkers on Leeds’ Otley Run pub crawl, because they have so few officers on duty, it’s been claimed.
Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Howley called for more resources to crack down on unruly behaviour on the famous crawl.
The Otley Run, which stretches from Far Headingley into the city centre, has been under fire from politicians for much of the last year, with older revellers, rather than students, having been identified as the cause of some of the problems.
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Sexual harassment of young women and public urination are among the troubles that have been linked to people staggering across the 15 or so pubs that line the Run.
The issue was raised again at a full council meeting on Wednesday, where Opposition councillors attacked the Labour administration for pulling council funding for 37 PCSOs across Leeds.
The ruling Labour group says it can no longer afford its share of the cost, the other half of which was paid by the West Yorkshire mayor’s office.
Councillor Chris Howley, who represents the Weetwood ward, said: “The police aim to have a minimum of two officers on the Otley Run between Far Headingley and Hyde Park at peak drinking times. That is not always achieved.
“When we have those officers on site, they are reluctant to arrest offenders because if they arrest someone, that officer is taken off the streets and can no longer work.
“Quite simply, we need more resources.”
Councillor Howley said he’d been told “there’s not enough evidence to justify significant investment in tackling the Otley Run problem”.
He added: “We have a vicious circle where we don’t have the police officers and the PCSOs to collect the evidence.”
At the end of last year, local Labour councillors publicly urged residents to report all offences to the police, to help get more crime-fighting resources dedicated to the problem.
They also said they were working to develop a text service to allow people to flag concerns quickly.
Responding to Coun Howley at the meeting, the council’s deputy leader Jonathan Pryor, said the government had cut 23,500 police staff and 7,500 PCSOs nationally since the Conservatives took office in 2010.
In response, Inspector Gina Robinson, who leads the Leeds North West Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We continue to work closely with partners to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the area and to keep people safe.
“Officers use a range of powers to deal with issues and behaviour which impact negatively on people (in the area), and will make arrests in situations where it is necessary to prevent further offending and/or keep people safe.
“We encourage people to report anti-social behaviour by using 101 or the 101LiveChat website facility, and to call 999 in emergencies.”
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