Calls for 'sinister' balaclavas to be banned from city

People have called for a ban on bike and scooter riders from wearing balaclavas and face coverings in Coventry, saying the masks can be "sinister" and make it harder to identify those responsible for crimes.

A petition has proposed the move as part of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which due to be updated in November.

"It is not just the riding of bikes in the pedestrianised area that threatens public safety, but the sinister appearance of these individuals that is causing alarm and distress to those wanting to go about life in a transparent way," the petition stated.

The PSPO, which the council is in the process of updating, will also introduce other restrictions in the city centre.

If the measures were to be adopted, Coventry would join other cities like Nottingham, which banned the face coverings earlier this year, after complaints to the police about people feeling intimidated by those who wear them.

The petition calling for the ban is on the Coventry City Council website and runs until 28 October.

People in Coventry city centre who spoke to the BBC said they would back the ban.

Bob Dilworth said he would prefer it if people did not wear face coverings when out and about.

"I always think they look a bit sinister, even if they're probably not," he said.

He added it made him feel uneasy, although he was also concerned about judging people unfairly.

Victoria Weaver, a retired police officer, said it was a good idea.

"Why do you need to be covering your face? Why do you need to be physically covering everything, unless you're trying to hide something?

"Unless it's for religious reasons, I don't get it, unless you're trying to hide something. So for me, ban it."

Others told BBC CWR it would ease people's fears and make it easier for police to catch those who break the law.

A ban is already in place in Stafford, where there has been a mixed response.

A group of teenagers there challenged the association often made between balaclavas and criminality.

Eighteen-year-old Sam Milgate said he wore what he called a "ballie" for privacy, comfort and warmth, particularly when cycling, and to stop his face appearing on social media.

"I feel like that's their problem, isn't it? They're the ones that are insecure and scared. That's not my problem," he said.

"If you're saying every person who wears a ballie is a criminal or something, then what else are you suggesting? It's kind of impeding against your free will."

Mohammed Zafran chairs the West Midlands Crimestoppers Volunteer Committee and is chief executive of the Midlands Community Hub in Birmingham.

He had previously campaigned for a ban on balaclavas and face coverings, to help fight rising crime rates and to alleviate fear from members of the public.

"We're getting loads of incidents where someone's committing a crime, but they're getting away with it only because of the fact that they've got a mask on," he said.

"Some of them will walk around on the streets knowing that the police won't catch us, someone on the road might not recognise us because of these kind of things."

Zafran has personal experience of the effect caused by people covering their faces.

"It's intimidating if you think about it. I've had my house set on fire, I think it was about two years ago, four o'clock in the morning," he said.

"But again the guys who've done it, they were covered in a mask, hence we don't know who they were.

"They commit these kind of crimes and think they can get away with it only because they hide their identity."

The petition calling for the move in Coventry runs until 28 October and would need to be considered by the city council before it could be added to the PSPO.

This news was contributed to by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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