POLICE officers issued a dispersal order to a group of young people in Westbury on Sunday night (16th), near the Leigh Park Community Centre, following repeated concerns about anti-social behaviour.
During the incident, an officer was verbally abused, punched, and kicked by one girl as police tried to engage with the group.
A 15-year-old girl was taken home by police and will now be investigated for assaulting an officer.
The local Neighbourhood Team have seen repeated incidents where a group of young people have been gathering in the town and causing issues. Due to the ongoing behaviour of the group, the police issued the dispersal order which was in place until 5.00am the following morning, giving police the power to order people to leave the area and allowed officers to arrest anyone who failed to comply.
Inspector Al Lumley, from the Warminster Area Community Policing Team, said, “We are continuing to have issues with this particular group of people, who appear to be teenagers from the Warminster, Westbury and Trowbridge areas and are continuously coming to Westbury to cause trouble.
“I hope this latest action by the local team shows that we will not tolerate this, and we will use the powers at our disposal to tackle anti-social behaviour, which we know is causing frustration and annoyance for the local community.
“I would also appeal to parents to ensure they know where their children are, who they are hanging out with and what they might be doing. It is clear that some of the parents of these teenagers have no idea about the trouble they are causing.
“Also, these young people need to know that if they are stopped by police due to anti-social behaviour, then they need to comply with our requests and give us their name and address. If they don’t, then they could find themselves being arrested and taken into custody.
“Finally, I want people living in Westbury to be reassured that the neighbourhood team will continue to carry out proactive patrols and liaise with partner agencies in a bid to tackle this anti-social behaviour, and I would encourage you to report any incidents to us so we can target our patrols accordingly.
“You can report anti-social behaviour by calling 101 or by using our online reporting tool on our website. In an emergency, please call 999.”
