Antisocial children and people begging in the street were removed from a busy town centre during a weekend policing operation.
Officers in Bulwell enforced two dispersal orders between Friday and Monday evening to address complaints by local retailers of antisocial and disorderly behaviour by a small minority of people.
The orders, which can be granted by a police inspector for up to 48 hours, empower officers to direct people away from a specified area and – if appropriate – return them to their home address.
Over the course of the weekend, five instructions to leave were issued after people were seen begging, and three young people were returned home.
As a result of the increased police presence, an outstanding criminal suspect was also identified and arrested.
Inspector Paul Ferguson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“We have been made aware of a recent increase in antisocial behaviour and aggressive street begging in the town centre that has caused considerable concern to residents, shoppers, and local businesses.
“This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable, and we won’t hesitate to take robust action to address it with this kind of proactive policing operation.
“As a result of this increased activity, we removed eight people from the town centre and have earmarked further positive action with the young people involved to ensure this behaviour is not repeated.
“All in all, this was a very successful operation and one we won’t hesitate to repeat.”
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