An urgent New Year’s Eve dispersal order has been issued in a UK riverside town amid new fears the area could be hit by violence.
Totton town centre, situated on the River Test in the New Forest District and County of Hampshire, has been under the dispersal order since 4.20pm yesterday, Monday, December 30, and will remain in force until 4.19pm tomorrow, New Year's Day.
The order, issued by Hampshire police under Section 34 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014), is in response to recent information received, which indicated the potential for disorder in the town.
Individuals who are aged under 16 will be taken be to their home address, and follow-up work will be done with parents.
The order covering the town centre and its surrounding areas gives officers powers to order a person to leave the areas concerned with no return within the specified time period.
This comes after police were given extra stop and search powers in Totton on Sunday.
Inspector Allan Dineley from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the tactics the force are using "are a robust measure to keep the public safe" and issued a warning that they will not "tolerate" those "involving themselves in criminality and disorder".
His full statement read: “Unfortunately, we are seeing a minority of people who appear intent on involving themselves in criminality and disorder in the local area.
“We will not tolerate this and are putting these measures in place to help us prevent and address these issues, and keep our communities safe.
“The tactics we are using are a robust measure to keep the public safe and ensure local people’s lives aren’t disrupted.
"If you have witnessed or been affected by any of this type of behaviour in the area, please continue to report it to police, so we can target our patrols and take further proactive action.”
Anyone with any information about criminality in their local area should call 101, or report online via the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary website, always calling 999 in an emergency.
