ON Thursday evening, personnel from the emergency services were called to a disturbance in the Pill area of Newport.

Crews from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called as were officers from Gwent Police.

In the following hours, six arrests were made involving two boys from the Newport area aged just 13.

Since then, there have been seven people charged – with one, a 24-year-old man, appearing in court facing a violent disorder charge on Saturday.

Three more people have been charged with the same offence of violent disorder and will be appearing in court throughout November.

Two people – a 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man were charged with breaching a dispersal order, and will appear before a court in November.

While night disturbances of that magnitude and riot police being deployed may not be so commonplace across Gwent, dispersal orders regrettably are.

By installing a dispersal order, which are usually in place for a 24 or 48 hour period, it allows the police to disband large groups of people congregating in areas.

Dispersal orders are generally put in place in areas which are commonly affected by anti-social activities, and officers have the power to make arrests if an individual returns to an area after being asked to leave.

A designated area will be outlined as part of the dispersal, which can range from streets or even open spaces such as car parks.

A dispersal order was put in place by the police to deal with any associated issues of anti-social behaviour in Pill.

“I think it’s fair to say that most people in Pill feel like the incident on Thursday was a one-off, something that got out of hand,” said Pill resident and founder of the Pride in Pill group Paul Murphy.

“Since then, while the dispersal order has been in effect, I have seen a greater police presence in the area. That has been reassuring to see that the police are taking the events very seriously.”

Mr Murphy, along with other members of the Newport-based community group, has been pleased to see a positive reaction following Thursday’s incidents, notably the residents of Pill pulling together.

“Our Pride in Pill group has been out since then to help with the clean-up operation and for me, it has been great to see the community pulling together in the aftermath,” he said.

“There’s only so much community groups can do, in terms of when dispersal orders are in place, but I am pleased to see there been a positive reaction in the Pill community.

“We are finding that more people are talking an interest in this community. Yes there are problems associated with rubbish, particularly fly-tipping, but it’s about community interaction.

“The positives of the dispersal order, and the action that has been taken since, are that the younger members of the community will hopefully realise that their actions will have consequences,” added Mr Murphy.

Areas of Newport aside from Pill have been placed under a dispersal order in the past year period, with Ringland, Alway and Maindee just three examples of this.

Outside of the city, other areas across Gwent have had dispersal orders put in place, following on from acts of anti-social behaviour or other issues, commonly reports of criminal damage.

In Blaenau Gwent – Abertillery, Ebbw Vale, Nantyglo and Tredegar have all within the past 12 month period had dispersal orders imposed on areas of the borough.

Also Caerphilly borough has experienced issues with dispersal orders, with Caerphilly town centre and Ystrad Mynach recently having orders imposed.

Monmouthshire town have been similarly affected, and in April, Caldicot town centre was place under an order following issues of anti-social behaviour.

One area of Torfaen however has had frequent problems with issues of anti-social behaviour, and dispersal orders have become fairly common in this area of Cwmbran.

The Greenmeadow, and occasionally linked with Fairwater in terms of an order, has seen multiple orders place on the area within the past 12 months.

“We have had our problems in the Greenmeadow area and when you see what happens from time to time, you think ‘oh my god’ and it can affect the residents,” said Lucy Arnold-Matthews, who belongs to the Greenmeadow Community, a group set up within the intention of making the area a better place to live.

Mrs Arnold Matthews says that she believes dispersal orders have had a positive effect on the area.

“Based on the dispersal orders that were introduced in September, I think it would be fair to say that they have worked in the Greenmeadow area," she said.

“I can’t comment on ones that go back further in time but there were two or three days in particular which spring to mind where it appeared there was a drop in the number of large groups of youths congregating in areas around Greenmeadow. And there were less issues that we were aware of."

She also believes that there are other ways anti-social behaviour can be tackled in areas like Greenmeadow.

She said: “We feel that if we are able to get people on side with us, this will lead to more people taking an interest in Greenmeadow and eventually, less acts of anti-social behaviour in the place where we live and ultimately less need for orders.

“It is about restoring a sense of pride to the area. Unfortunately some people will commit anti-social acts and from time to time dispersal orders will be required, but the feedback we’ve had so far is that the group is making a difference.

“It’s been a largely positive response as well. I would like to say that since we’ve started, I felt there have been less acts of anti-social behaviour and dispersal orders have become more infrequent.”

Gwent Police said they are keen to work with communities across the entirety of the region to find ways of reducing anti-social behaviour issues within cities, towns and villages.

However, when necessary, the police will use the legislation at their disposal, including dispersal orders, to deal with unacceptable behaviour.

Superintendent Mark Budden said: “Gwent Police engages with the public in a variety of different ways across Gwent including digital media platforms, surgeries, representation at community groups and council meetings.

“It is as a result of working closely with the communities we serve we are often able to deal with issues and concerns quickly and effectively which negates the need to utilise legislation.

“Sometimes however, it is appropriate to utilise the legislation available to us to ensure that our communities are kept safe by robustly dealing with the minority of people who chose to behave in an unacceptable manner.”