A GROUP of youths have been temporarily banned from a riverside area in Wimborne after swearing and spitting in front of families with young children.

Officers from the Wimborne Neighbourhood Policing Team issued seven section 35 dispersal notices earlier on Tuesday, August 11, following reports of youths committing anti-social behaviour.

The group are banned from the area around the Dreamboats pontoon at the River Stour for 12 hours.

If they return within this time period they will be arrested, a spokesperson for East Dorset Police said.

The spokesperson added: "This type of behaviour will not be tolerated."

The dispersal powers fall under section 35 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which gives PCs and PSCOs in uniform the power to exclude a person from an area for a period of up to 48 hours with an inspector’s authority.

In addition to the inspector’s authority, the officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect that the behaviour of the person in the locality has contributed to or is likely to contribute to:

  • Members of the public in the locality being harassed, alarmed or distressed, or
  • The occurrence in the locality of crime or disorder, and
  • That the PC or PCSO considers that giving a direction to the person is necessary for the purpose of removing or reducing the likelihood of the above

Section 35 dispersal powers can be used by police officers and designated PCSOs to deal with individuals aged 10 or over engaging in anti-social behaviour or crime and disorder not only when they have occurred or are occurring, but when they are likely to occur and in any locality.