Fake police posters promote Sheffield city centre as ‘crack and heroin’ zone

A “small number” of fake posters have been put up near Castle Square tram stop over the weekend in Sheffield claiming the area was a “Crack and Heroin Zone”.

The stickers also included the badge of South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield City Council.

Reportedly, similar fake posters making the claim about the class A drugs have been seen in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.

Some speculated that it could be a “far-right group” behind the campaign.

Cllr Douglas Johnson (City, Green Party, Speaker for the Green Group) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It would be quite an imaginative spoof sticker, if the identical types hadn’t been spotted in Leeds and other cities.

“Unfortunately, it’s a fairly negative way of expressing concerns about city centres, rather than something specific to Sheffield.

“We know that residents, workers and visitors in the city centre suffer from nuisance caused by a certain number of vulnerable but often volatile groups.

“The difficulties are made more difficult by mental health, substance misuse, unsettled lives and exploitation. It is not as simple as ‘homelessness’ or ‘drug addiction’.

“A lot of people working for the council, health services, police and voluntary sector, do a huge amount of work to contain the problems and try to support people off the streets.

“That’s why we encourage generous people in the city centre to donate to these charities instead of giving cash on the streets, which can fuel exploitation.”

A police spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of a small number of fake posters that were illegally posted at locations in Sheffield city centre.“Enquiries are ongoing, and posters which have been discovered have since been removed.

“Anyone with concerns around fly posting is encouraged to report it to Sheffield City Council.”

A spokesperson from Sheffield City Council said the council had been aware of the stickers for “a couple of weeks” and they were working with the police to find and destroy them.

When similar posters were found in Leeds, West Yorkshire Police distanced itself from the signs, which it said had been posted illegally.