Police make direct appeal to parents following north Belfast disorder

Officers say young people were involved in sporadic fights with some items being thrown

Police have issued a statement following disorderly behaviour involving young people in North Belfast.

Officers attended the Townsend Street area on Tuesday evening, October 21 after reports of crowds gathered. The PSNI say the young people involved engaged in disorderly behaviour, with sporadic fights and some items being thrown.

The back windscreen of a vehicle parked on Townsend Street was broken during the disorder and another vehicle was damaged – these are being investigated as criminal damage.

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Appealing for information, Chief Inspector Paddy Mullan said: “We are engaged with local representatives and the wider community to prevent further instances and we would particularly ask parents to speak to their children so they do not become involved in such behaviour.

“However, it must be noted that work is required from all agencies in terms of establishing the root causes of this behaviour and prevention, for instance through youth diversionary and support programmes. We remain committed to this partnership working to ensure positive and safe outcomes for our communities and their residents.

“We would encourage local people to report any and all incidents of disorder or anti-social behaviour to us – the more we know, the more we can do to support people and take positive action. Please call us on 101 or 999 in an emergency.”