Following a number of incidents of criminal damage and anti-social behaviour in Sedgley police will be using dispersal powers until 3pm on Friday 14 May. 

The powers are granted under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and mean officers can direct anyone to leave the area whose behaviour is likely to cause alarm, harassment or distress.

Patrols are being increased to prevent further offences and to provide reassurance to local people and those visiting Sedgley. A spokesperson for the force said:

“We know that local people are very concerned about what’s been happening and we’d like to reassure them that lots of work is going on behind the scenes.

“A number of young people have been issued with ASB warning notices. They have been visited by officers to let them know what that means, and their parents have been informed. 

“We’ve conducted lots of talks at local schools about the impact of anti-social behaviour and three people have recently been identified for causing damage to a church wall.

“Two youths have been given a conditional caution and enrolled in an intensive Youth Offending Services programme– neither of them have reoffended since.

“There are lots of posts online about these issues and we’d urge people to contact us and tell us what they know. 

“Sometimes criminal damage and other low level offences can go unreported but we need to ensure that we have as much information as possible on every incident that has taken place.”

If you have information and haven’t yet been in touch, you can contact officers via live chat at west-midlands.police.uk (between 8am and midnight) or by calling 101 anytime.

To remain anonymous you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.