Dispersal order clears Camborne town centre for the night

A group drinking, shouting and swearing their way through Camborne town centre was enough to trigger a police power that let officers order people out of the area overnight.

Camborne, Pool and Redruth Police authorised a Section 35 dispersal order for Camborne town centre, running until 0600 the following morning. The order was put in place after what the team described as a day of anti-social behaviour from a group who had been verbally abusive, drinking, shouting and swearing.

What a Section 35 order actually does

A Section 35 dispersal order is a police power under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. It lets officers direct people to leave a defined area for up to 48 hours to prevent harassment, alarm, distress or crime.

Once an officer has told someone to go, refusing to leave or returning within the time limit is a criminal offence. In Camborne the order was set to expire at 6am, so the power covered the night hours when the trouble had built up.

More eyes on the town over the coming months

The police say the order followed work done alongside other partners to keep the town centre pleasant. Street marshals are also out on patrol over the next few months and will be reporting back to officers on what they see.

“This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and we will not hesitate to invoke this power again,” the team said.