County-wide dispersal order in place ahead of planned car meet

In response to a planned car meet, a dispersal order covering the whole of Cambridgeshire will be in place this weekend.

The measure has been taken by the force following information about the event due to take place in Peterborough on Saturday evening (10 February), as well as recent events of car meets and anti-social driving.

The order, which will be in place from 5pm tomorrow evening (Saturday) to 7am on Sunday (11 February), has been granted under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and allows police officers to direct a person to leave the area specified within the order if there are reasonable grounds to suspect their behaviour has contributed or is likely to contribute to members of the public feeling harassed, alarmed or distressed, or the occurrence of crime or disorder.

Failure to comply with the order can result in arrest.

Inspector Connor Hall, from Peterborough’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Car meets and the associated anti-social behaviour has been a problem in Peterborough for some time, which is why it is an ongoing priority for our Peterborough southern Neighbourhood Policing Team to tackle”

“Although these events are often intended to be a good-natured for car enthusiasts, they also have a history of becoming anti-social and cause issues for the local community due to behaviour such as excessive noise, reckless and dangerous driving, and causing damage to road surfaces.

“Over the weekend, we will have patrols in place across the city, particularly the known hotspot locations for these meets, to enforce the dispersal order.”

Anti-social driving can be reported to police via the web chat service or online forms at www.cambs.police.uk/report. Anyone without internet access should call 101.

If a crime is in action, or someone is in immediate danger, always dial 999.