Warning to Folk Festival troublemakers

Police at this weekend’s Wimborne Folk Festival will be using additional powers to prevent anti-social behaviour, as well as alcohol-related crime and disorder.

Some 30,000 people are expected to attend the festival of music and dance which runs from Friday 11 until Sunday 13 June, and the police are taking extra measures to reassure the safety of all the visitors.

Officers will be using Section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 to prevent or stop alcohol-related crime and disorder by ordering a person to leave the designated area and not return for up to 48 hours.

The Policing and Crime Act 2009 has amended this power and, as a result, a constable in uniform can now give a direction to an individual aged ten years or over (previously16 years or over) to leave a specific area if they represent a risk of alcohol related disorder.

With the support of East Dorset District Council, police officers will also be using Section 30 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 to prevent or stop intimidating, harassing, alarming or distressing anti-social behaviour.

The Constable or Police Community Support Officer may enforce this power if the person is within a specific area and it is between 9pm and 6am. There also has to be reasonable grounds to believe that the person is not under the control of a parent or other responsible person aged 18 or over. This Section 30 authority has been granted to commence on Thursday 10 June through to Wednesday 16 June 2010.

Anyone failing to comply with an order to disperse from a police officer or Police Community Support Officer under the two Acts will be liable for arrest.