What is a dispersal order?
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 gave police new powers to
disperse groups in authorised areas. A pre-designated
dispersal order provides the police with additional powers to
disperse groups of two or more people where the officer has
reasonable grounds for believing that their presence or behaviour
has resulted, or is likely to result, in a member of the public
being harassed, intimidated, alarmed or
distressed.
A person is not committing an offence simply because an
officer has chosen to use the power to disperse, but failure to
follow the officer's directions is an offence. Once asked to
disperse, it will be a criminal offence for that person to
return to the dispersal area for a 24 hour period.
Individuals who do not reside within the designated area can
be directed to leave the locality and may be excluded for up to 24
hours.
If a young person under the age of sixteen is stopped in the
designated dispersal area after 9pm and is not accompanied by an
adult the police can escort them to their home address, if they are
either:
- At risk or vulnerable from anti-social behaviour, crime
etc
- Causing, or at risk of causing, anti-social
behaviour
Who decides which area needs dispersal
order?
A local senior police officer makes the decision based
on recent available evidence, but the area also has to be
agreed by the Council. A dispersal order will only be
applied to an area where there is evidence that other
interventions have failed to address the anti-social behaviour
and when the police and council deem a dispersal order to be
justified and proportionate to the severity of the behaviour being
experienced by members of the public.
A dispersal order will normally be applied as part of the
strategic work of the Community Safety Partnership .
Community consultation is essential to ensure a wider, longer
term preventive and diversionary strategy. Consultation also
encourages dialogue about appropriate use of public space and the
role of the community in supporting social cohesion and
tolerance.
Whilst Braintree District Community Safety Partnership has
implemented two dispersal orders in the last four years; the
partners are mindful that the successes of each dispersal order are
largely due to the extent of community consultation (including
businesses and local residents) combined with a multi agency
problem solving response and planned activities rather than the
powers per se.
Dispersal orders can place a strain on police resources and
may generate displacement, often shifting problems to other places;
sometimes merely for the duration of the actual order.
Dispersal orders are sometimes viewed as a 'sticking plaster' and
invariably fail to address the wider causes of perceived
behaviour.
Dispersal orders should not be seen as a stand alone police
solution to problems of anti-social behaviour, crime and
disorder.
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