AHEAD of Hallowe'en and Bonfire night, Gwent Police have implemented a power which will help tackle alcohol related crime and disorder.
Section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act has been implemented and allows an officer to move a person aged 16 or over from a location if it is suspected that that person will contribute to alcohol related crime and disorder. The order can prevent that person from returning to an area for up to 48 hours.
If that person is found to have returned they could be arrested.
The legislation, which is different to a dispersal order as it means that officers do not have to apply to court to be able to move people on, has been implement across the Gwent force area and officers have put the legislation to use this weekend in Abergavenny where several youths were issued with directions to leave.
Inspector Terry Davies from the Community Safety Unit, Gwent Police said, "This legislation is particularly useful for officers to use on the spot, for example, at the beginning of a weekend or at the beginning of an event that last a number of days as it will ensure that the people cannot return to that location for a specific time period. It sends out a strong message and we thought it would be particularly useful to introduce it at this time of the year with Hallowe'en and Bonfire night coming up, as you are more likely to find groups of people hanging around."
PC Andy Charles, Abergavenny's Crime and Disorder Reduction Officer said, "We envisage that this new power will be used as an early intervention tool to prevent problems getting out of hand and nuisance being caused to our community.
"At this time of year with Hallowe'en and Bonfire night, some of our young people over step the mark of acceptable behaviour and the power will enable to officers to remove the problem form the area effectively, protecting our neighbourhood."