Drug users and dealers mobbing a pub, unsavoury incidents broadcast online, “cretins” trying to break into a butchers’ shop – we see story after story about antisocial behaviour in Dundee.

And, time after time, no action is taken.

In fact, it’s worse than no action. Our city’s leaders don’t seem to know it is happening.

They can’t know, because if they did, they’d do something about it – wouldn’t they?

Making it all worse, they are too often given an easy way out by sycophants and stooges who gush about what a wonderful place for tourists Dundee is.

I’m sorry, but Dundee city centre in its present state is not a wonderful place for anyone.

‘What I’d change in Dundee city centre’

To change that we need more police – a lot more police – patrolling much more often.

We need a return of city centre wardens, who knew where trouble was likely to start.

We need to crack down on shoplifters, move out the black-masked bike gangs, and get rid of the drug pushers.

A good start on the last mentioned would be to stop methadone being given out in the city centre.

Och, there’s that bad Steve Finan again, talking down Dundee.

The opposite is true. I’m the only one confronting the hard facts and advocating for the tough changes that really will make a difference.

No matter what names I’m called, I won’t pretend everything is wonderful when it’s not.

The whole city needs to be brutally honest.

Until we recognise the chaos in Dundee, especially the city centre, we won’t take the difficult steps to confront and beat the problem.

We can’t do much about the digital world’s shopping habits, but the city centre can still be a commercial success.

It has to first be safe, though.

‘Different approach required in Dundee’

Dundee could have the best shops, pubs and restaurants in the world but no one would visit if the streets outside are filthy and shoplifters, drug users and thugs running wild.

Isolated sticking plasters are no good – bonny street furniture in Union Street just gives yobs a nicer backdrop for their violence videos.

One-off events celebrating diversity and “kindness” won’t change the overall trend.

I’m tired of politicians and do-gooders hiding behind the buzz-phrases of study groups – better data to support decision-making, collaborative thinking, creative projects to enhance cultural activities.

All the words dreamed up by middle-class project managers in glass-walled offices – and all completely useless unless the first, most obvious, problem is tackled.

Dundee city centre has to be clean, safe, and hassle-free, or no one will come.

To fix this properly we need our city’s leaders to admit what the biggest problems are, confront them head-on, get the place cleaned up and the bad elements cleaned out.

Nicey-nice isn’t working.

Wishy-washy gushes about Dundee having so much to be proud of aren’t working.

Hiding heads in sand will never work.

A different, harder, approach is required.

Do the hard stuff first, and don’t let up until the job is done – then build from there.

© The Courier