Not all the drivers of some 150 cars that were “swiftly moved” by police from a Peterborough car park in defiance of a county wide dispersal order got off without a warning. Two section 59 warnings under the Police Reform Act 2002 were issued where vehicles were being used in a manner “which caused alarm, distress, or annoyance” says Cambridgeshire police.
A spokesperson explained that “the notices are placed on both the driver and the vehicle, meaning should either be found to be involved in anti-social behaviour again, the vehicle can be seized”.
From 5pm on Saturday (10 February) to 7am on Sunday (11 February), a dispersal order covering the whole of Cambridgeshire was put in place following information about a car meet planned to take place in Peterborough on Saturday evening.
Police obtained the order under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and it allows police officers to direct a person to leave the area specified within the order if there are reasonable grounds to suspect their behaviour has contributed or is likely to contribute to members of the public feeling harassed, alarmed, or distressed, or the occurrence of crime or disorder.
“Whilst carrying out patrols at the known hotspot locations for these meets, neighbourhood officers swiftly moved up to about 150 cars that had gathered in the Serpentine Green car park in Hampton,” said the spokesperson.
Inspector Connor Hall, from Peterborough’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Thanks to the information that we received, we were able to act quickly and get a county-wide dispersal order put in place.
“Car meets and the associated anti-social behaviour is an ongoing priority for our southern Peterborough Neighbourhood Policing Team and is something that we will continue to work at tackling.”
He said that anti-social driving can be reported to police via Cambs Police web chat service or online forms at www.cambs.police.uk/report.
Anyone without internet access should call 101.
