Thames Valley Police, in partnership with Milton Keynes Council, obtained a dispersal order for the Lakes Estate in Bletchley as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
The order came into force on 25 June 2009 and runs for three months. It allows police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to deal with groups of two or more people who are causing nuisance to the local community. They have the power to move them away from the dispersal area and prevent them returning within a 24-hour period.
A person under the age of 16 in the area between 9pm and 6am, unsupervised by an appropriate adult over the age of 18, can be removed and taken back home or to a suitable place of safety by an officer or PCSO.
On Thursday (2/7), a 15-year-old boy, who does not live on the estate, was directed to leave the Lakes Estate under the dispersal order after he was involved in an anti-social behaviour incident. He was ordered to leave the estate and within half an hour, police returned to the area and he had ignored the order and was subsequently arrested.
The boy was later charged with knowingly contravening a direction to disperse or leave a locality under the dispersal order. He has been bailed to appear at Milton Keynes Youth Court on Thursday 16 July.
The dispersal order was introduced to help police deal with a small group of individuals whose anti-social behaviour is having a negative impact on the local community. This group has been causing problems for local shopkeepers and residents for some time and the order is being put in place as a direct response to a growing number of complaints.
Neighbourhood Sergeant Dave Bald said: “The young man who was arrested was not a person who lives on the estate, but came into the local area and was deemed to be engaged in anti-social behaviour.
“The dispersal order allows us to deal with anti-social behaviour on the estate and target the small minority of individuals who cause problems and nuisance to local residents.
“However, we still need the help and support of the community and ask that anyone with information about those committing crime and disorder in the neighbourhood contact us.”
Posters have been placed in the areas affected advising people of the order and what it means to them.
