Needles and verbal abuse - solving the 'catch-22' of city centre problems

Business owners in Leeds say intimidating anti-social behaviour is putting people off visiting the city centre. As the government prepares to bring in new Respect Orders aiming to tackle the problem, there are questions around the treatment of those responsible.

"We're getting a lot of anti-social behaviour up and down the street," says Cameron Bedford, who runs the Doghouse Bar and Bagel Shop on Kirkgate.

"Over the past few nights we've had rough sleepers sleeping at the back of our businesses in the beer gardens and we've found needles on the steps."

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) covers crimes such as vandalism and drug use, as well as issues like noise and littering.

According to figures from West Yorkshire Police, reports across the county saw a small increase of 1.3% between March 2025 and March 2026. In Leeds, the increase over the same period was 4.2%.

In the city centre itself, Police.uk figures recorded 305 ASB crimes in May this year - a slight increase on May 2025's 274 cases but a fall on May 2023's 396.

Bedford says the problem is "disruptive for footfall" and is damaging the reputation of businesses on what is believed to be the city's oldest street.

"I don't know if the support is quite there for them to get help," he adds.

Respect Orders could see frequent offenders ordered into drug, alcohol or anger management treatment programmes and those who breach these orders could face arrest and jail time.

Bedford's bar is close to the bus station - an area that has proven a hotspot for ASB reports in recent years.

A short walk away, the Grade I listed Corn Exchange marks the starting point for Daisy Lyons' ghost tours.

During her first year of running the tours, she says they have frequently been interrupted by intimidating behaviour.

"There was a group of lads who came and stole our tour guide's glasses off his face and threw them on the floor," she says.

Lyons says tour guides have also had to put up with hats being grabbed and signs repeatedly damaged or stolen.

Tour groups have also seen people urinating in the middle of pedestrianised areas.

From October, persistent ASB offenders will face being banned from town and city centres through the Respect Orders.

Lyons says the idea is "reassuring", but may be a "scratch to the surface of a much deeper national problem".

"We understand the negative impact of ASB," says Insp Chris Craven, from the Leeds City Neighbourhood Policing Team.

"We're committed to working with Leeds City Council, Leeds BID and other partners to address any issues reported to them by businesses, residents and those visiting the city."

Craven says a dedicated Leeds ASB team works alongside the neighbourhood policing team to help put long-term solutions in place to try to deter and manage those involved.

Close to the railway station, Gareth, who manages the bar Friends of Ham, says the issue is caused by "strictly a minority" of people but feels their behaviour is "much more antisocial" than it used to be.

"I don't think it's just the younger generation, or older generation, I think it's across all ages," he says.

"I think there's a lot of people who are afraid to call out bad behaviour, which has meant that you see a rise in it because no-one's being challenged, there's no accountability."

"I've witnessed people slobbed out from drug use, I've witnessed old women getting abuse from young kids," says Dominic, who has previously experienced homelessness.

"It does seem to be getting a lot worse, I've noticed in the last couple of years."

He says it is too easy to blame ASB on rough sleeping, with it coming from "all parties" in city centres.

"There's a lot of homelessness, a lot of drugs, boredom, it can stem from a lot of things," he says.

Becky Joyce's Homeless Street Angels charity provides food and support for people on streets and says she can see the issue "from both sides".

"A lot of them have addictions - they're on drugs or they're drinking," she says.

"But this is all to escape the lifestyle that they've got, so it's a catch-22 really.

"If they were off the streets it wouldn't be happening as much, so it's got to be dealt with from the beginning."

Some doubts have been cast over Respect Orders, described as a "modernised version" of the anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) for adults.

But Alison Lowe OBE, the deputy mayor for policing and crime in West Yorkshire, does not think the new orders will end up punishing the most vulnerable people.

"The public needs to see people doing time for the crime, but it is also recognising that each person brings their own story with them," she says.

"The risk assessments that each organisation bringing the Respect Order needs to do will identify the needs of that individual person.

"So it's yin and yang - punishment but also support."

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