Following incidents of youth disorder over the last two weeks in Sandhurst and Crowthorne, a Section 60 stop and search order has been authorised from 2pm today (2/10).
For the last two weekends the force has received reports of significant disorder, including pre-arranged fights with weapons in areas of Sandhurst and Crowthorne.
A number of arrests have been made and a number of discarded weapons have been recovered in the vicinity.
Intelligence suggests there is a current and escalating rivalry between groups of youths.
From today at 2pm until 2pm on Saturday, the order will be in place, covering the area defined by the road boundaries of the B340 to the north, Wokingham Road to the west, York Town Road to the south and Rackstraw Road into Foresters Way to the east.
Sandhurst Memorial Ground is also included in the boundaries of this order.
This order will be reviewed on Saturday and may be extended further to cover the period of the weekend.
Superintendent Lindsey Finch, said: “A Section 60 order is an action we can put in place when there are reasonable grounds to believe there is a possibility of serious violence, or a possibility of weapons being used.
“We have intelligence that there may be potential for violence between specific groups of youths, and so to prevent this, we have put this order in place.
“Using these increased powers, we are able to stop and search anybody within a defined area while it is activated, with or without reasonable grounds to do so.
“During the period that this order is in place, there will be a continued increased presence of uniformed police officers in these areas to provide reassurance.
“This order has been put in place to prevent such incidents from taking place, and so I hope that this does reassure the local community.
“Putting Section 60 orders in place is not something we do every day, and we do not take decisions to do so lightly.
“These orders exist to help the police prevent serious violence. Although this may sound concerning, the Section 60 is just one of many measures we can use in order to prevent incidents of violence.
“Please do not be worried if you are stopped by an officer. This does not mean you are in trouble. Please listen to and engage with our officers, and they will be happy to address any concerns that you have.”
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