Now that the secretary of state has approved Richmond Council's short-term scheme to demolish Twickenham Baths and create a public space at the upstream end of the site, the council and the police have announced the use of new powers to bring an end to anti-social behaviour in the area.

New powers in the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 will introduce a designated Dispersal Area allowing police to crack down. There are persistent drinkers who have traditionally gathered at the corner of the old baths site for many years.

The Dispersal Area comes into effect immediately,and allows police and police community support officers (PCSOs) to remove groups of two or more people who are behaving badly from the designated area. They can be kept out of the area for up to 24 hours. The new legislation also allows the authorities to remove anyone under 16 years of age to their home or a place of safety, if they are not accompanied by a responsible adult.

Twickenham town centre itself has already been designated a Dispersal Area, along with Richmond Town Centre.

Commenting on the new powers Cllr Tony Arbour, leader of Richmond Council, said: "We are delighted with the decision of the secretary of state as handed down last week. It is going to allow us to finally get to grips with the regeneration of this important part of Twickenham. We want Richmond upon Thames to be the safest Borough in London.

"We will not tolerate antisocial and loutish behaviour by those who would make life miserable for everyone else. These new powers will give us the ability to intervene when there are signs of trouble and get rid of the troublemakers. If they cannot behave we do not want them on our streets."

Speaking on behalf of the Met police Inspector Mike Kirby said: "Over the coming year the police and our partners will strive to meet our objective of reducing anti-social behaviour by 20 per cent. To achieve this we have launched Operation Peacemaker and we are implementing a number of activities to tackle offenders, improve the locations they target and to reduce the chance of being a victim of unacceptable behaviour.

"The introduction of a dispersal area for Twickenham town centre is a key tactic within this operation and we are already seeing its effect as the selfish minority who act in a loutish manner are being removed. Every member of the community has a part to play in this task, more so if they are a parent, but I am confident that by focussing the efforts of all, this Borough will become an even safer place to be."

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

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