Concerned

is it just me calling the police when i see bin rakers, drug deals and acts of vandalism on the streets/back lanes of strathbungo?

it certainly seems so. sorry to sound harsh but i was so proud to say i lived in Strathbungo a few years ago and its certainly not the case now.

in the space of half an hour today i saw 2 sets of bin rakers and 4 asian teenagers very obviously dealing drugs. i stay in moray place and overlook the back lanes and the mess from fly-tipping, irresponsible dog walkers and bin rakers is just appaling. not so long ago, we reported a man with a knife ripping open dumped binliners in the lane – he was obviously drunk or on drugs – what would have happened if someone had innocently startled him?

what i find bizarre is that i have heard of loads of break ins yet lots of people have overgrown hedges and trees and haphazard fences that don’t protect their property, just shield the burglars, we have bungo at the bells/back lanes that is supposed to encourage community spirit yet i see dog mess on the streets of strathbungo each day and barely anyone looks you in the eye if you pass them on the streets. we all appear to have windows that look onto the back lanes/streets but strangely no-one sees these bin rakers or dodgy folk , we are all paying mortgages/rent and yet it seems we let the council away with potholes, flytipping, broken street lights- what a funny wee world strathbungo is.

i find it very hard to believe that no-one else sees what i see or feels the same way so if you do please respond. the police have told me that they are happy for us to call them. the number is 0141 423 1113. i am making the decision to call them whenever i see anything dodgy and i don’t care if that makes me seem like a nosey busybody!

8 Comments

  1. Scott Mackay

    Dear Concerned,
    I wholly agree with your concerns and am also someone who phones the police regularly regarding these types of issues. Be assured that you are not alone in your concerns or in seeing what is going on in our streets and back lanes. Last week I was threatened and followed by a man who I saw crouching in Queen Square looking into basement flat windows. Following my call, the police came (albeit 30 min later), however we must keep calling them regarding any such incidents as the more calls logged, the more seriously the police take our concerns and the more resources they will put in our direction.
    The Strathbungo Society continually raise these issues formally with the City Council, police and the Community Council, plus one of our key purposes is to build community by putting on events and bringing the community together. By doing this, we hope to foster community spirit which will result in people looking out for each other and reporting unlawful behaviour, etc. The greater the number of people that get involved, the more influence we will have on the powers that be and enable us to improve the area, together.

  2. Margaret Gillan

    Dear concerned resident

    You are rightly concerned but not alone in your concerns for Strathbungo. I am in agreement with Scott as well.

    even though we all have busy lives to live it takes little effort to lift your head and smile as someone passes but I suspect that some people are afraid to smile as we have a lot of not local people passing through. However I have discovered that a smile may not be accepted but I do not give up and it is the other person who loses. Keep up your good work of trying.

    as regards to the reporting what you see – welcome to the club – there are a few of us out there but I admit it is a long time since I have actually seen anyone going through the bins. But if i do then i will report it.

    can i encourage you to attend the Strathbungo meetings and put forward some suggestions and also if you have the extra time help the team to deal with some of these issues. I have been to a couple of the meeting and benefited from them but unfortunately cannot be a regular attendant due to other commitments. the meeting is useful and certainly not a boozy get together as I was ‘reliably informed’ and the team as doing a great job with a very small number of helpers.

    Strathbungo is a wonderful place to live and make friends and anyone who makes the effort can get involved and be encouraged and make a difference. Keep up the good work. keep calling the police or contacting the society. Also it was great was to see the effort of the local conservative party folk helping to clear the lanes the same day unfortunately as the coffee/art morning but both events were attended well.

    Strathbungo makes Glasgow even more miles better :0)

  3. angela bryson

    I agree with the above comments………..a reflection on much of Glasgow I wonder?
    It’s the grafitti at the entrance to Moray Place that bothers me. I’ve phoned about having it removed and the grafitti on the bins and street signs. We live in such a unique and beautiful area, it really saddens me that we are powerless to keep it that way. I phoned the police one afternoon after disturbing teenagers breaking into a van and stealing from it. The incident taught me not to park at these overgrown hedges.

  4. Gary Paterson

    Dear All,

    I’m concerned by this – I’ve just agreed a purchase of a property in Marywood Square and have young children. I was thinking that these back lanes could be used by some dodgy punters, but was ‘assured’ this is not the case. I had a walk down there and around the streets in Queen/Marywood/etc to get a feel for the place and it seemed really quiet, if a little dirty/ramshackle in the lanes.

    Do I need to worry about this if I’m moving to the area? Am I going to be hemmed in by a bunch of no-good druggies and have to trawl for needles before lettign the kids out to play?

  5. James Limb

    Dear Concerned,

    I’m sorry to hear the problems you have been having, and thank you for the police contact number once more. We have obviously been lucky recently – after a spate of trouble last autumn, the police started regularly walking the lanes, and the problems generally improved.

    Most of the general issues in the lanes stem from thoughtless residents leaving the bins out, where they can be targeted, and leaving inappropriate rubbish that Glasgow’s rather selective binmen (executive waste removal officers?) won’t take. However, can I encourage people to report dumped rubbish – the glasgow.gov.uk website has a number of contacts for rubbish – I have copied them below.

    How to contact us:

    Phone: 0800 027 7027

    (this is a Freephone number – you will not be charged for the call.)

    Use the online form.

    E-mail us: clean@glasgow.gov.uk

    Write to the Council at:
    Clean Glasgow
    City Chambers
    George Square
    Glasgow G2 1DU

    I have generally found them prompt to pick up large items. There are also sections to report street light faults / potholes and many other things.As Scott has said, as frustrating as constantly reporting things can be, the more it is highlighted, the greater the chance of being taken seriously.

  6. sharon schweps

    we really must not let a small band of troublemakers take our lanes from us. I’ve lived in Queen Square for 25 years and I’ve always taken shortcuts through the lanes. I also phone the police if I occasionally see dogey looking folk hanging out. But mostly the lanes are absolutely fine – I’m a lot more worried about dog poo than drug dealers.

    I was really flabbergasted a while back when a neighbour saw me emerging into Queen Square and said she couldn’t believe I’d been so foolish as to be walking alone in the lanes – this was in broad daylight, mind you, and the neighbour was not some timid old dear but a fit and healthy young woman.

    I’m not suggesting anybody should take silly risks, but please – put it in a proper perspective. The real threat is if local people stop using the lanes, then they will become no (wo)man’s land. Use them or lose them, as the poet said … and don’t wait till Bungo in the Back Lanes to get out there and clean your bit up.

  7. Graham Vernall

    I wanted to alert people to a very unpleasant incident which happened to me, and which I believe highlights a growing problem in this area.

    On Monday night, at 6.15pm, as I returned home, I was harrassed and assaulted by two out of a group of three young men, whom I had heard walking along the lane from Regent Park Sq to Queen Sq, making a lot of noise.

    A stick was thrown at me as I went into the lane from Queen Sq to Marywood Sq. When I was foolish enough to object to this I was accused by one of them of being a racist, as they were Asian. The other then came up to me as I tried to walk to my back gate, ranting in my face about “white organizations” and then threw a punch at me. I then yelled for someone to call the police and they ran off. But because the back lanes are totally deserted, no one saw the incident or came to my assistance. One person, who did look over their fence said they had had seen nothing.

    I applaud the lady who uses the lanes, as if they were more populated, these troublemakers would not be able to hang around with impunity. They are not hanging around Pollokshaws Road causing trouble as there would be too many witnesses; they perceive this area as a quiet and empty one where no one will see them, and there will be no consequences for their actions. We should do all we can to stop this.

    I would encourage anyone seeing anyone suspicious to phone the police. It may seem strange to be encouraging people to use the lanes when describing an assault, but I believe one thing follows on from another.

    The lanes are wide open for abuse. We need to stop this as a community, The police were very helpful, and are pleased to respond to any concerns, although their response time could be quicker.

    This was an extremely unpleasant and shocking incident, which hopefully will not happen again to anybody. Thank you for taking time to read this.

  8. Colin

    I must say over the past year or so i have noticed more ‘dodgy’ characters walking around the back lanes, however i find a quick ‘oi’ from the back window usually moves them on!! I have called the police on one occasion when i experienced a intoxicated grown man, holding a baby of about 6 months at 10pm threaten a dog walking couple when they expressed their concern for the child.

    I think the very nature of the location of strathbungo filter’s people through its back lanes from Pollockshields through to queens park. The railway bridge almost channels walkers through the roads and lanes and i think this is unavoidable. I’d be interested to know whether Strathbungo got quieter as a result of the footbridge closure at the bottom of marywood square some time ago.

    Quiet places within cities always provide cover for nasties, hence why our back lanes seem to get the odd yob walking through. I must say after moving a few years ago from the Botanics in the west end, i’ve seen much less trouble and heard about less break ins within Strathbungo which is encouraging.

    Please, if you see mischief in the back lanes report it, its the only real way we can make a difference. It interesting that ‘concerned’ feels alone in this plight and maybe as a suggestion we should log events on this sight to guage the actual level of trouble and to prove what a lovely community spirited place the bungo is and please angela, move here with confidence. 🙂

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