STONES could be removed from a local train station following several incidents of vandalism to buses amid a rise of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Clydebank.
Over the past few weeks, police have reported an increase in ASB in Clydebank town centre including damage to buses in the Chalmers Street area, after youths have been launching the stones.
Other incidents include fire-raising, fighting, and youngsters carrying weapons.
We previously reported that passengers had to be evacuated from a bus in this area after it came under attack from vandals throwing rocks earlier this month.
ScotRail has now confirmed it is looking into removing stones from the platform at Clydebank train station in an effort to crack down on this issue.
Stephen Elliot, ScotRail security and crime manager, said: “Vandalism and anti-social behaviour is completely unacceptable, and ScotRail works very closely with British Transport Police to ensure that Scotland’s railway is a safe environment for our customers and our own people.
“This includes involvement in multi-agency initiatives to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, the introduction of our Travel Safe Team, and the rollout of body-worn cameras which deter and prevent incidents from escalating.
“We will continue to work with the British Transport Police and Police Scotland to clamp down on unacceptable behaviour and bring anyone responsible to justice.”
The move follows the launch of a new multi-agency partnership involving ScotRail’s Travel Safe team, FirstBus, BTP, West Dunbartonshire Council’s ASB team, Police Scotland, Clyde Shopping Centre, elected representatives, and local schools looking to tackle the issue locally.
Our reporter met with Inspector Ryan McMurdo, area commander for West Dunbartonshire, to find out more about what powers local officers have when it comes to dealing with ASB incidents.
Various initiatives are being rolled out in the region including the use of analytical data which police are using to identify windows of time where ASB incidents and disorder are likely to take place.
During these time frames, officers will be deployed to the affected areas in an effort to prevent it from happening/escalating.
Inspector Ryan McMurdo said: “The buses came to the forefront in the last couple of weeks and we’ve identified two people in connection with reportedly vandalising buses in the Chalmers Street area.
“Reports [to the Procurator Fiscal] will be submitted in relation to each of these.
"We work off an analytical product that informs our action plan so that our officers are in the area at the times that matter most.
“Community policing is a really important cornerstone of policing. I’ve got a background in community policing myself so for me public trust and confidence comes from seeing police on the street.
“I want to say to anyone who does engage in anti-social behaviour, disorder, or any criminality in West Dunbartonshire to think again as my officers will respond robustly to all incidents reported.”
An officer from West Dunbartonshire’s partnership team added: “Every day we have a sit-down and review the last 24 hours of policing so we know exactly what’s happening in the area.
“We’ve got an analyst that works with us so we’re making sure that we’re getting analytical reports of what times these individuals are behaving like that so we can best target our resources to these areas.
“We spoke to the manager at Clyde Shopping Centre recently about ways in which he can support us.
“He was talking about doubling up his staff on their shifts so that it coincided with our analytical review.
“This will mean their security guards will be focused on the times that the trouble has been happening.
“They have also improved CCTV at the bottom area of the centre [near Chalmers Street].”
FirstBus Glasgow was contacted for comment.
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