POLICE are trying to gain the power to send groups of people home from Exeter city centre who they think will cause trouble.
The city centre beat team is weighing up a bid for a 'dispersal order' to tackle anti-social behaviour during the busy summer months.
The order gives officers the power to get groups of two or more, who are believed to be acting anti-socially, to leave a designated area or go home and not to return for a period of up to 24 hours.
They could be arrested if they refuse to leave or return to the area. For an order to be granted it would need the approval of the city council and Exeter's Superintendent Chris Eastwood.
And to get the public's views on the issue Sergeant Chris Leisk, Exeter city centre beat manager, is looking for views on whether an order is needed. He said: "The public are telling us that the priorities for the city centre are anti-social begging and street activities that involve drug use and drinking. The use of a dispersal zone could help us handle these situations.
"What we need is reasonable grounds for believing that members of the public have been intimidated/abused/alarmed or distressed.
"We previously had one in the city centre a couple of years ago and it worked very well at the time. During the six months the order was active, there were less than ten people arrested for refusing to leave or returning.
"The vast majority of people who are subject to the order listens and abides."
He added: "Previously we have never had opposition to it, but if anyone does have any concerns about it I would encourage them to go to our website and contact the city centre team.
"Ideally we would like to have an order up and running by June. This gives us the time to collate the evidence, get it signed off and publicise it in the media, before the start of the main summer period.
"The boundaries are not defined but there is a designated public place order in existence, known as the street drinking byelaw, so it would probably make sense to keep it similar to that."
There is currently one other dispersal order active in Exeter at St Thomas pleasure ground which runs until June 21.
Comments on our website have been largely supportive of the order, but some concerns have been raised about it being used to "hassle young people" not causing problems.
