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Cllr James King |
Police powers review pledged after challenge
Dispersal zones a shambles, says critic
THE Town Hall’s crime chief has ordered an urgent review of anti-social behaviour policy after his department granted extra police powers across the south of the borough last week.
Dispersal zone powers, which allow police to break up groups of two or more people and order under-16s out of the area after 9pm, were authorised by the council’s community safety department to cover an area between Regent’s Park and King’s Cross Road – the breadth of the borough – from October 15.
Opposition councillors and residents have questioned whether the power is proportionate, and whether council and police followed procedures designed to prevent abuses.
On Tuesday, Councillor James King admitted there were “lessons to be learned”.
He said: “There are some valid and important questions here on communication and consultation.
“This was something that I’d already asked the department to look at, because it is important we go through the process when agreeing extra police powers of this sort. This should now be a priority.”
Police requested the power to deal with persistent drug-dealing in the area around Warren Street Tube station.
Long-running dispersal zones in Camden Town, Swiss Cottage and the West End have been joined over the summer by zones in Kentish Town and Somers Town.
The result of the new zone is that almost all of the borough south of Chalk Farm is now under the powers, which have been popular with residents’ groups but which civil rights group Liberty condemn as a form of “instant justice”.
By law, the police must gain the consent of the council, and Home Office and council guidelines make clear that dispersal zones should be authorised only after extensive consultation with residents, councillors and businesses.
They also require that the use of zones should be proportionate to a problem of “persistent anti-social behaviour”, and should be clearly communicated to the public.
Labour deputy leader Cllr Jonathan Simpson said that as a councillor in King’s Cross, which is included in the zone, he should have been consulted under the council’s guidelines – and when he asked police in his area, they were also uninformed.
He said: “They talk about consultation but even the police in my ward did not seem aware that this dispersal zone had been introduced. You’ve got this blanket, huge zone, without any consultation with councillors – it amounts to sheer incompetence from Cllr King, an absolute shambles.”
The highly-commended police officer who has overseen anti-social behaviour measures in Camden since 2004 is PC Dylan Belt.
PC Belt said that the procedures for this zone were followed to the letter, and said the zone’s boundaries had been chosen to prevent “displacement”.
He added: “We thought that if we are going to disrupt and frustrate dealers in the Warren Street area, the last thing we want to do is displace them into old or former areas like King’s Cross where we have already dealt with this problem.
“I can assure you we’re not turning the whole borough into a dispersal zone.”
PC Belt welcomed Cllr King’s review, adding: “We continuously monitor and review the way dispersals are authorised.” |
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