It comes amid fears of major disorder involving groups of youths.
Greater Manchester Police has issued a dispersal order for Rochdale (Image: PA Archive)
A dispersal order has been issued in Rochdale for 48 hours covering the entirety of the town centre, police said. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) issued the order over fears of major disorder involving groups of youths. It comes following incidents of antisocial behaviour in south-west London “fuelled by online trends”, which have led to the arrests of six teenage girls since Saturday.
The order aims to give officers further powers to tackle antisocial behaviour. In a statement, GMP said: “Officers have implemented a 48-hour dispersal order across Rochdale Town Centre following recent incidents of anti-social behaviour.
Rochdale Town Hall (Image: Getty)
“This includes incidents yesterday where groups of young people were reported to be harassing staff and causing criminal damage at a business and in the centre.
“The aim of the notice is to minimise behaviour contributing to, or likely to contribute to, antisocial behaviour or crime or disorder in the area.”
Inspector Meena Yasin, from GMP’s Rochdale district, said: “We have implemented this order to provide further powers for officers in the area to robustly deal with anti-social behaviour, and to protect people and businesses.
“We will not tolerate anti-social behaviour and where this is reported, we will look to take the strongest action – whether through proactive action or preventative problem-solving work.
“These powers are in place for the next 48-hours, and officers will be patrolling the town centre to ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable Bank Holiday weekend.”
Anyone with information about criminality or incidents of anti-social behaviour is asked to contact GMP via 101 or their Live Chat function on gmp.police.uk.