A 14-YEAR-OLD boy with a string of arrests for violence and theft has been slapped with an Asbo, but a court has banned you from seeing his face.
Sandeep Kumar, of Saunders Road, East Oxford, is banned for the next three years from being outside at night between 7pm and 7am unsupervised.
It came after Oxford Magistrates’ Court heard how he waged a campaign of violence and intimidation against neighbours.
The Asbo also bans Kumar from half of Saunders Road and neighbouring Weymann Terrace and from being abusive and threatening.
Neighbours last night questioned whether the Asbo would have any effect and criticised the court’s decision to ban publication of any photograph of the teenager.
Scott Arnold, 19, of Saunders Road, said: “He needs to go to prison because an Asbo won’t stop him. It won’t work, he’s up and down Saunders Road all the time and shouting at people from his window.”
His brother, David, 18, said: “It’s good he’s named and shamed, but people should know what he looks like because what if he goes and causes nuisance elsewhere?
“I don’t see how this Asbo can work if it’s only for half the road.”
Oxford magistrates heard Kumar had been arrested 14 times since 2006 for a range of crimes including theft, attacking girls and threatening neighbours.
Witnesses told magistrates Kumar threatened to stab a child, pulled out a hammer and claimed he would break a girl’s legs and punched and kicked a boy to the ground.
A 45-year-old father-of-two said: “He climbs the roofs and police come and take him down. It’s really disturbing.”
A 41-year-old woman said: “He’s always in the road causing trouble.
“He’s a bad influence to other children.
“All the neighbours know what he looks like but surely this is an Asbo so everyone needs to know.”
However, David Brandish, 24, said: “Sandeep is misunderstood.
“People should leave him alone. He doesn’t deserve an Asbo.”
Insp Graham Sutherland, of Cowley Police, said: “He is disruptive and has a destructive effect on the community.
“He is vindictive and has a pernicious effect on people living nearby.
“We cannot accommodate him any longer in the community being so impactive.”
The Asbo, made on Friday, is in place until November 2012.
If Kumar breaches the order he will go before a court and could be sent to a youth offenders’ institute for two years.
Pc Mike Dix, neighbourhood specialist for Cowley, said: “Sandeep has been responsible for a considerable amount of antisocial behaviour in the area for some time, which has resulted in a number of local residents’ lives being unacceptably affected by his actions.
“Sandeep’s three-year Asbo should be a message to all that this type of behaviour can not and will not be accepted, and will be dealt with effectively.
“We hope that Sandeep takes notice of the conditions of his Asbo and urge the public to report any breaches so they can be investigated.”
Oxford City Council and police will deliver leaflets to neighbours explaining the Asbo – but with no photo.
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