Section 60 and Dispersal Orders introduced in Liverpool this evening

A Section 60 Order has been introduced in an area of Liverpool this evening following the recent violence and disorder.

The order was put in place at 4pm today (Wednesday 14 August) and will stay active until 1am on Thursday 15 August.

It has been introduced to prevent incidents of disorder and criminality.

The Order, under S60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, gives officers enhanced powers to stop and search individuals across the areas of Liverpool as shown in the map and is designed to prevent serious violence.

It also includes a Section 60AA authorisation meaning failure to remove a face covering when asked by an officer could result in arrest. Anyone wearing a face covering can be requested to remove it by a police officer who can also seize the face covering if they believe the person is wearing it to conceal their identity.

There is also a Dispersal Zone in place to cover the same area shown in the map, which will be active for the same time period as the Section 60.

The order comes under Section 34 of the Anti-Social Behaviour & Policing Act 2014, which gives police officers and police community support traffic officers powers to direct people who are engaging in antisocial behaviour or are likely to become involved in such incidents. These powers will not be used for anyone visiting the area to go about their daily business. Under the legislation, officers have the power to seize any item used in the commission of anti-social behaviour. Should a person who has previously been directed to leave the area return, an offence would be committed, for which they may ultimately be arrested.

Inspector Jack Woodward said: “These measures have been brought in following the recent disorder in Liverpool.

“The aim of these two orders are, as ever, to keep the public safe, and residents and visitors to the city will see more police patrols this evening. I hope their continued presence is reassuring, and I would ask anyone with concerns to speak to those officers.

“We have deployed a number of Section 60s and Dispersal Orders before, during and since the incidents and will continue to deploy them where we believe they can assist our efforts to keep people safe.”

Anyone with information about criminality and disorder is asked to DM @MerPolCC, message ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre on Facebook’ or @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111.

You can also pass information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.