Police on alert and move officers to East Tilbury ahead of potential trouble. A dispersal order is put in place
POLICE have slapped a dispersal order on an area around East Tilbury rail station today (Monday, 29 September), in a bid to thwart disorder featuring young people.
The village has been a historic meeting point for 'gangs' of young people who arrive (and leave) via the c2c rail station after clashing with rivals - often in nearby Gobions Park.
In recent years there have been a number of incidents, prompting one resident to say: "The village looks as if it's become a place where young people want to sort out their issues and the number of incidents isn't really proportionate to our size."
Last week residents reported a clash between a number of youths in the area - which may have been a reason for possible escalation of violence and threats between local gangs.
Acting on intelligence, Police say a dispersal order will be in force in the area from this afternoon following reports of potential anti-social behaviour involving groups of schoolchildren from several schools.
This order will remain in place between 2.15pm today until 2.15pm on Wednesday, 1 October.
The orders are designed to protect the local community, and give police officers the power to carry out stop and searches and ask people to disperse if officers suspect they are intending to act anti-socially in the area outlined by the map.
Local police Inspector Dan Selby said: "We will have officers in and around the area, engaging with young people and utilising this dispersal powers where justified and necessary for us to do so.
"My ask to the parents of children in the area is simple: check where your children are, and if you're concerned pass any information to police if you feel it is relevant to this incident.
"Moving forward we will be engaging with schools in the area to discuss work around this kind of behaviour, on top of work we already do around weapons and knife prevention in schools."
East Tilbury ward councillor Fraser massey said: "I am glad the police are taking this matter so seriously, East Tilbury has become something of a focal point for clashes between young people and it's not acceptable. "
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