Could a balaclava ban be rolled out in the West Midlands?

Following a survey in May by Nottinghamshire Police of those who visit the city centre as to why they feel unsafe, which elicited almost 2,000 responses, results showed a need to deal with issues which cause them to feel intimidated because of concern about safety.

Notably, the use of face coverings by young men was highlighted in the survey as a reason they might avoid going into Nottingham City Centre during the day and especially in the evening.

This is significant, as there can be few of us who’ve not visited a local town or city and seen the phenomenon of teenagers/young men in face masks who appear to exult in their ability to create a sense of edginess and palpable anxiety among the public.

That many also ride around on electric bikes, which, I believe, are undoubtedly illegal and can move at phenomenal speed, can outrun a human being and can escape through alleys which police cars cannot follow, gives the sense that these youths consider themselves above the law.

Indeed, the problem is not only confined to city and town centres, as the behaviour of youths in masks in urban areas is also a menace.

As part of ‘Operation Reclaim’, which is a collaboration between Nottinghamshire police, council and others, over 820 arrests have been made for a range of offences, including shoplifting, which, according to Nottinghamshire Police, has reduced ‘antisocial behaviour’ by 42%.

Nottingham City Council believes that 90% of the public would back a crackdown on face masks that are characteristic of the sort of behaviour being manifested by young people across Britain.

In the light of the terrible tragedy in Cleveland over the weekend, criminality among youths and young men has become a story of the moment.

Obviously, anything which can be done to deal with behaviour that is utterly abhorrent and creates a sense of lawlessness will attract widespread support.

As such, I fully expect Andy Burnham, who has a deft ability to identify social issues affecting the public mood and to formulate policy explicitly intended to produce positive improvement.

However, what’s important to recognise is that the notion that teenage and young men engage in forms of lawlessness is hardly new.

History is littered with examples of outbreaks of such behaviour which, depending on the time, could result in stiff sentences and, certainly in past centuries, public flogging.

The reality is that for as long as humanity has tried to make sense of the behaviour of those who were more than children, it has faced the conundrum of how to deal with what is regarded as the fecklessness or rowdiness that offended those around them.

As a child I remember adults describing what they saw as unacceptable behaviour as being no better than ‘Teddy Boys’ who, in the 1950s rock ‘n’ roll revolution, during screenings of the 1956 film ‘Rock Around the Clock', would rip up cinema seats.

What might now be seen as overly exuberant behaviour by those who would now be in their 80s, or dead, created moral panic at the time and led to politicians debating in Parliament whether to legalise the return of corporal punishment – including whipping, birching, and flogging – as a way to deter further violence.

Beyond making what might be viewed as a trite comparison with youth violence and antisocial behaviour 70 years ago, it’s important to remember that context is all important.

1956 was only just over a decade after the end of the Second World War, and there was a sense that the emerging youth had missed being part of the glory of defeating the repugnant regime that were the Nazis.

However, and crucially, this was an era of rebuilding in which employment and, of course, money were more freely available.

In the here and now of 2026, there are a multitude of dilemmas confronting young people, most especially teenagers/men, regarding what purpose they serve.

In many parts of the country, particularly where traditional industries have long since disappeared, unemployment has become endemic.

Education, the traditional route to either escape poverty or to become better off than your parents, no longer provides that notional guarantee.

If there is widespread disillusionment, it perhaps deserves some limited sympathy, though it is extremely challenging when confronted with masked gangs prepared to engage in violence and potentially use weapons.

So, where does all of this take us?

For sure, Nottingham City Council, like many other local authorities, is well within its rights to deal with the social menace of gangs in city and town centres who undermine the public’s confidence in law and order and make them less likely to use the shops and other facilities which are already facing an existential threat from online retailers.

However, I’m reminded of the slogan "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime", which, though credited to Tony Blair after he became leader of the Labour Party following the death of John Smith in 1994, was actually first used in 1992 by Alun Michael, who was the party’s deputy shadow home secretary.

Effectively, this required the use of strict laws to deal with antisocial behaviour to create punishment and deterrence coupled with a range of interventions explicitly intended to deal with social problems which are believed to lead to criminality: deprivation, unemployment, lack of education and addictions.

As Tony Blair’s administration found, this requires tremendous effort and coordination and, understandably, massive amounts of money.

The current Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has inherited a country which appears to be teetering on crisis, not the least of which is the abiding sense of hopelessness of so many communities.

It’s utterly conceivable that he might repurpose the "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" approach of Blair’s government.

If he does, everyone will surely support him, though probably only until they discover the cost.

Until we recognise that a radically different way of dealing with current societal problems is needed, all we can do is look to the police and courts to deal with masked youths and keep our fingers crossed that things will eventually get better.

Unfortunately, it must be stressed; history indicates that merely treating symptoms doesn’t deal with the underlying disease.

Steve is Professor and Pro Vice Chancellor, DoctorateHub.

Previously, having worked for Birmingham City Council, he spent the last 35 years as an academic at Birmingham City University teaching and researching economics, management and business. Additionally, he has written extensively for edited texts examining economics and politics.

He regularly writes and comments regularly in the national and international media on politics and the economy and has published texts on quality management, benchmarking, ‘Brexit’ and its economic and social impact, the green economy and manufacturing, house prices and India’s progress since independence. 

To read Dr McCabe’s work visit Amazon to find English Regions After Brexit: Examining Potential Change Through Devolved Power.