Byline: AURA SABADUS
A SERIAL bag snatcher has been handed a ban which prevents him from entering Edinburgh's city centre.
James McMillan, a 32-year-old convicted thief, has been served with an interim antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) excluding him from 40 streets in the capital.
The part-time gardener is alleged to have persistently plagued some of the city's busiest food and drink venues, stealing handbags, purses and wallets Gucci Tote Fake Handbags from elderly women and foreign visitors.
McMillan, of Niddrie Mill Crescent, has more than 60 convictions for dishonesty.
He has also used stolen bank or credit cards to commit fraud to pay for his heroin addiction.
Lothian and Borders Police compiled a dossier of evidence to secure the ASBO. The force sent letters to his victims, some living as far away as Australia, to determine whether they had suffered "fear, alarm or distress" as a result of his crimes. Their testimony allowed Edinburgh City Council to pursue an ASBO against him.
Detective Constable Andy Higgins, the lead officer on the inquiry, said the exclusion zone could help to deter "professional criminals" from reoffending.
He said: "This is a novel approach and we are already dovetailing with other Scottish forces to ensure offenders are prevented from re-entering targeted areas.
"We needed to look laterally how to reduce crime and protect the public from these persistent offenders.
"We identified the key areas of McMillan's offending and have been successful at obtaining the interim ASBO. This is a powerful preventative piece of legislation that will assist front-line officers and members of the public greatly by restricting his access to the areas where previously targeted."
Dimmable LED Bulb GB-G60-8WCouncillor Sheila Gilmore, the city's housing leader, said the local authority was committed to keeping residents safe.
She added: "People have the right to enjoy Edinburgh's city centre without fear of having their possessions stolen from a bar or restaurant. This is yet more evidence of our unwavering commitment to keeping the city's residents and visitors safe."
Assistant Chief Constable Neil Richardson, of Lothian and Borders Police, said the force would be looking to see whether the civil orders used in McMillan's case can be used for different crime types to exclude persistent housebreakers, drug dealers and shoplifters from the areas they had targeted for years.
embroidered patches
But McMillan's wife, Farrah, 29, last night complained that the ASBO prevented her husband from visiting his solicitor's office, which is situated in one of the streets covered by the ban.
She added: "It is totally unfair. He now has to travel for miles when he has a job on the other side of town.
"And he cannot visit his lawyer because his office is in the city."
Earlier this month, Thomas Bell, 41, was handed an ASBO after allegedly waging an 18-month campaign of threats and abuse at the Westside Plaza shopping centre in Wester Hailes.
The Wester Hailes ruling was the capital's first order banning someone from commercial premises, however in Bell's case the ban related only to a limited area.
Other articles:
http://www.xxlp.net/Blog/View/?553
http://www.zx0719.com/Blog/View/?648