Extra resources promised to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime in Truro
It comes after a homeless man was attacked in a car park at night
Last updated 15th Feb 2022
Extra resources are being promised to tackle anti-social behaviour in Truro in the wake of a homeless man being attacked.
The city's MP says that is now a priority for Devon and Cornwall Police.
Cherilyn Mackrory met with officers on Monday after shocking video footage appeared online which seems to show the man being kicked by his makeshift bed.
Police say seven teenagers who were arrested have now been bailed with strict conditions.
They have also confirmed that the victim is safe and well.
Cherilyn said: "I had a really productive meeting with our local police and various agencies looking at the anti-social behaviour issue in Truro, particularly in the light of the disturbing incident from the weekend. We all agreed that now is the time for action. Thank you to our police for taking swift action and arresting those people identified in the video of the incident.
"I can assure the people who live and work in Truro that there will be a targeted and robust approach to tackling with the spate in crime and anti-social behaviour.
"Tackling anti-social behaviour in Truro has now been made a strategic priority for the police force and we will get additional resource to tackle this.
"The biggest issue at the minute in Truro is a very small minority of youths.
"As well as action from the police, there needs to be more youth provision in Truro to get the youths causing the issues off the street.
"All our focus on now is on de-escalating the issues in Truro and making people feel safe and ensuring Truro remains a safe place to live, work and grow up in."
A number of fundraising appeals have since been set up to help the man who was assaulted and thousands of pounds has been raised so far.
We are being told that work is underway and funding has recently been secured to help tackle rough sleeping and homelessness across Cornwall.
Cherilyn continued: "Recently it was announced that there will be a £1.1 billion investment in police in the UK. On the ground, that will mean there will be an additional 686 police officers compared to 2017 in the Devon and Cornwall police force by April 2023 – taking the total number of officers up to over 3,500. The most amount of police officers Devon and Cornwall police has ever had.
"I will absolutely be making the case that Truro sees its fair share of this and I have already been on the phone to our Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez and her team this morning making the case for this.
"As well as dealing with crime, we also need to continue to deal with the causes of homelessness.
"Since April 2019, Cornwall has received £19.6 million from the Government to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the County. Most recently, £7.4 million announced on Friday to help tackle the problem. Money is not the issue.
"This money has been spent on the ‘everyone in’ scheme at the start of the pandemic, a Government initiative. This helped get hundreds of people with no fixed address in Cornwall in a safe place to live during the pandemic.
"Cornwall Council has also bought 40 pods for those who are homeless and rough sleeping, which are in various places across the County – like at New County Hall in Truro. There are more of these to come. The council also want to build more social and affordable homes.
"At the last head count, there were 29 rough sleepers in Cornwall. Cornwall has a population of nearly 600,000.
"The outreach services are working incredibly hard to engage with these people that are rough sleeping in Cornwall, but we need to accept for some of these people it is a lifestyle choice. We cannot force anyone to take accommodation if they do not want it.
"The council and the services continue to engage with those rough sleeping and as soon as they are ready to take the next step and explore the option of housing, Cornwall Council stand ready to help them.
"I encourage anyone who knows of anyone who is sleeping rough to report them via https://www.streetlink.org.uk/ to allow Cornwall Council to identify them and try to engage with them to get them the help they need to get off the streets."