Woking man sentenced for breaking his Criminal Behaviour Order

A Woking man has been given a 12 week suspended prison sentence after breaching the terms of his Criminal Behaviour Order.

Joseph West, 48, of Goldworth Road in Woking, was sentenced at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 19 February, after pleading guilty to two counts of breaching his Criminal Behaviour Order and two counts of causing harassment and distress.

The CBO was given to West in August 2019, and prohibits him from behaving in a manner, either verbally or physically, which would cause alarm, harassment or distress to one or more persons within the Woking borough.

The order also prohibits him from entering certain areas, including Woking train station and the Taco Bell restaurant in Chertsey Road.

The court heard how on a number of occasions West was found to be entering his exclusion areas, refusing to adhere to coronavirus restrictions, and verbally abusing members of the public in an extremely aggressive manner.

He received a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay £100 in compensation.

Borough Commander, Inspector David Bentley said: “West’s abusive behaviour has brought distress to the lives of those he targeted. This type of anti-social behaviour simply will not be tolerated in our local communities. Your local specialist neighbourhood officers have proactively dealt with this matter.

“Criminal Behaviour Orders are a valuable tool to tackle anti-social behaviour which can have a real impact on the local community.

“We want to reassure the residents of Woking that we take CBOs seriously and would like to remind them to continue to report any breaches of these orders to us – a breach is an arrestable offence.”