RESIDENTS are “living in fear” after recent attacks in St Columb’s Park in Derry, its manager has said.
A number of people have been targeted in the park in recent weeks, leading to an increase in police patrols.
Police have carried out regular patrols and last week reported seizing smoking paraphernalia.
They also said young people were involved in underage drinking, despite the heavy police presence in the park.
Park manager Helen Henderson said some of the incidents were sectarian in nature.
DUP politicians met police officials on Monday to discuss solutions to the ongoing anti-social behaviour, which has been exacerbated by alcohol consumption in the park.
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle, Ms Henderson said: “There are definite issues in the park around drinking and obviously we know that with alcohol things escalate.
“There was an attack a couple of weeks ago which started out with some sectarian slurs.
“Whilst park rangers can report seeing kids playing happily during the day, as the evenings go on and alcohol is consumed that’s when this gets out of hand.”
“Talking to the local residents you definitely get a sense of fear, especially with the elderly population.”
“It’s important to address those fears but I think the best way to ensure the park doesn’t become a no-go zone is to ensure people are using it.”
The PSNI’s Chief Inspector Paul McCracken added: “There is clearly a lot of goodwill in the city from a range of organisations and individuals who want to play a role in ensuring this public space is used in a positive way and local police are more than willing to play our part to make sure park users are safe.
“While enforcement is a critical part of our approach to this anti-social behaviour, we also want to make sure that our young people are not being left vulnerable.
“We would again urge parents and guardians to be more intrusive about where their children are and what they are doing.”
DUP MLA Gary Middleton said a number of organisations, not just the police, needed to work towards a long-term solution, adding that he’d held talks with community leaders and residents on Thursday.
“They did say to us that they were concerned that this issue was not being dealt with,” said Mr Middleton.
“We need to get to the stage where there is no need for a huge police presence at St Columb’s Park… to protect those residents.”
Mr Middleton added that the “overwhelming majority” of park users behaved responsibly.
However, Ms Henderson said there had been a rise in disturbances at the park since the Peace Bridge was built in 2011.
“Last summer we definitely saw an increase in under-age drinking behaviour, and this year as well,” she said.
“There is a small group that do spoil it for other people and it’s about putting out a message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.”
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