A 59 year-old Pontypridd man has become the first person to face magistrates for breaching the Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) in Ynysyngharad Park, Pontypridd.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Community Safety Partnership secured the important order for the park in order to protect its hundreds of users from the mindless actions of a minority who used it as a place to gather, drink alcohol and be disorderly.
Secured in court, the order made it an offence for any person to refuse to surrender alcohol, when they were asked to do so by a police officer.
Keith Miles, of Graig, Pontypridd, has become the first person to be placed before the courts for breaching the DPPO, after he refused to stop drinking, hand over the alcohol in his possession and clear up the mess he had made, when instructed to do so by PC Ian Sullivan.
He became abusive and refused point blank to comply with the order, leading to his arrest, charge and subsequent court appearance.
As well as being fined £35 for breaching the DPPO, and a further £55 for a section 5 public order offence by the courts today, he has also been banned from the park.
Phil Bevan, Head of Community Safety, said: “The DPPO was secured by the CSP to ensure the hundreds of people who come to the beautiful Ynysangharad Park to have a good time can continue to do so.
“Its main focus is on giving police officers additional powers to deal with the small minority of offenders who ruin the park for others.
“The DPPO forms part of the extensive work being delivered to ensure Pontypridd remains a safe, enjoyable and vibrant place to live, work and visit.”
“Last year, people drinking in the park and causing a nuisance had a negative impact on the park’s appeal to normal, respectable members of the public who are entitled to enjoy what it has to offer without feeling intimidated or threatened by others,” said PC Ian Sullivan.
“The Community Safety Partnership secured the order last August to ensure decent people could continue to enjoy the park, while those who insist on being disorderly could be tackled. Today’s court result is evidence of how effective the order can be. ”
” Just ahead of the warmer weather and lighter evenings, this is also a timely reminder that we will be making sure the park is free from troublemakers so that it can be enjoyed, as it has been for many years, by so many people.”
“Just ahead of the warmer weather and lighter evenings, this is also a timely reminder that we will be making sure the park is free from troublemakers so that it can be enjoyed, as it has been for many years, by so many people.”
