A DISPERSAL zone is set to go live in Aberdeen city centre from noon today in a bid to crackdown on antisocial behaviour following a string of incidents including an alleged attempted murder.
Read more: Man, 40, charged over fatal stabbing near Edinburgh Castle
It will hand the police powers to instruct any people in groups of two or more who are congregating and likely to cause distress to members of the public through antisocial behaviour to leave the zone and not return within 24 hours.
Those who do not comply or who seek to return to the area outlined can risk being arrested.
Dispersal zone
The zone covers the main city centre thoroughfare including Union Street, Bon Accord Centre and Union Square Shopping Centres, Union Terrace and Market Street.
It follows a rise in the number of calls to police in relation to antisocial behaviour, vandalism and assault by young people in the the area in recent weeks.
Read more: Three arrested after man and woman attacked in Aberdeen city centre
Two teenage boys and a 20-year-old woman have been charged with attempted murder following a disturbance on Union Terrace on April 20.
In February, 41-year-old man was seriously injured in another incident in the city's George Street.
The Dispersal Zone will be brought into effect over this weekend - from Friday 31 May to Sunday June 2.
It is anticipated it will run until the end of August and will be in place every day between 12pm and 12am.
Read more: Projects worth billions could drive Aberdeen transformation
Community Policing Team Inspector Vicky Stables said: “Our communities are vitally important to us and members of the public should be able to enjoy what the vibrant City Centre has to offer without the impact of antisocial behaviour.
"In the last few weeks we have seen a number of young people from across the North East in addition to those from Aberdeen congregating in the City Centre and some have been choosing to engage in antisocial behaviour.
“We have also seen incidents of a serious nature including an alleged attempted murder which three people have been charged with.
“A number of interventions are ongoing with partners and parents however we are looking to develop a proportionate sustainable solution to prevent a problem from developing.
“The powers contained in the dispersal provisions are not intended to be used as a first resort or in isolation. Rather they are intended for use as part of a package of measures agreed with partner agencies.
"The power of dispersal will only be used if it is believed that the presence or behaviour of groups has distressed members of the public.
"It is for the small minority who are intent on causing harm and distress to members of the public.
"We know the vast majority of people coming to Aberdeen City Centre are doing so peacefully and this measure is just one that we can use to help protect the public from antisocial behaviour."
Aberdeen City Council Public Protection committee convener Councillor Jennifer Stewart said: “Our city centre is vibrant and safe which is recognised through our Purple Flag award, and the area is one we can all be proud of.
“A small number of people have been responsible for antisocial and offending behaviour in recent months and we will always support robust action to help ensure the safety of all who live and visit our city centre.
"This order will help ensure all residents and visitors can enjoy their visit.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel