A dispersal order has been granted in Greenwich tonight under the anti social behaviour crime and police act.

The order will be active between 6pm tonight and 1am tomorrow morning on Greenwich Peninsula.

A map of the boundaries is below.

News Shopper:

What does this mean?

A police officer may authorise the use in a chosen location and during this time they have the power to order people away from the location the restriction is placed on.

An officer may also give such an authorisation only if satisfied on reasonable grounds that the use of those powers during that period may be necessary for the purpose of removing or reducing the likelihood of harassment, alarm or distress, they may also believe that a reoccurring crime may take place.

If an officer believes that someone in the specified area is likely to cause a disturbance, or believes that they are likely to contribute to a crime, he is authorised to:

- Ask the person to leave the location and not to return until the warrant has been lifted on the area.

- The person asked to leave the area cannot be excluded for more than 48 hours and the direction must be given in writing and detail exactly the area they are banned from.

What happens if I don’t leave?

You will be committing an offence under Section 39 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Police Act, which can result in you being arrested by an officer, and if convicted has a maximum penalty of three months imprisonment and/or £2500.

Failure to hand over surrendered items would also be a criminal offence and would have a penalty of up to a £500 fine.