University takes on drunks and skaters

UNIVERSITY chiefs have declared war on dangerous skateboarders and abusive drunks harassing their students.

Edinburgh University has been granted permission to install three CCTV cameras overlooking George Square after a spate of incidents, including a security guard being injured trying to deflect a skateboarder careering towards his head, and foreign students being repeatedly abused by drunks.

Adam Conn, chief security officer at the university, said: "There has been an increase over the last two years of incidents of antisocial behaviour caused by a group of street drinkers who were displaced from Hunter Square, and the university is working in partnership with the council and police to address this.

"A further problem in the area is activity by skateboarders and trick cyclists, who cause damage to the stone edging and leave rubber tyre marks on the walls of the buildings."

The area was previously covered by CCTV but the cameras were removed to allow refurbishment to the Adam Ferguson and Chrystal Macmillan buildings and never put back up.

While police say they have no powers to move skateboarders on from the area unless they are causing a public nuisance, a university spokeswoman said there had been at least one incident, where a security officer had a close call.

She said: "A security officer had his finger slit open when he held it up to protect his head from a skateboarder who was sliding down some railings at head height.

"In the last academic year the behaviour of some of the people that hang around drinking has got out of hand. People are taking drugs, urinating in the square, shouting, swearing and let their dogs run wild."

The situation is likely to deteriorate further when a new bylaw takes effect at nearby Nicolson Square, which has been similarly blighted by abusive alcoholics since it was renovated two years ago. To counter this, police have revealed they may extend the drinking bylaw to George Square.

A police spokesman said: "Tackling antisocial behaviour in the George Square area falls in with the same initiative to tackle antisocial behaviour in Nicolson Square.

"The nature of much of the antisocial behaviour in these areas stems from antisocial drinking, and the area will be looked at for implementing the bylaw banning drinking.

"Skateboarding is not a criminal offence and we would not chastise skateboarders unless they were causing an obstruction to traffic or harassing members of the public. The fact that they were skateboarding would be irrelevant."