THE Gwent Police team who introduced the 48-hour dispersal order in Newport last week have said so far the crackdown seems to have worked.

Inspector Kevin Warren, who oversees Alway ward covering Alway, Ringland and Lliswerry, said there had been an “escalation” in anti-social behaviour in the Ringland area since September.

Inspector Warren decided to introduce the 48-hour crackdown from 5pm on Friday, November 28 until Sunday, November 30 in an attempt to reduce the presence of trouble-making gangs of youths.

The order meant police officers could order members of the public to move on from a specific area for a stated period of time, and failure to do so could lead to an arrest.

The police inspector said the order seems to have been successful, with just one anti-social behaviour call over the weekend, compared to a usual average of five or six.

One arrest was made after a man who had been ordered to move on from the area came back before the time limit was up.

But Inspector Warren said the dispersal order is just one measure in many that police officers use to tackle antisocial behaviour.

He said: “We always start off with low measures and see what works. I wanted to deliver a clear message that this kind of behaviour could not be tolerated but I had to ask whether I could be going too far”.

When the Alway Neighbourhood Policing Team first noticed an escalation, they upped the frequency of patrols and visibility in the community, before then working with Newport City Homes.

Eventually Inspector Warren decided to introduce the dispersal order after the antisocial behaviour levels failed to drop.

He said: “Generally speaking there’s some cracking people living there. I have got to be seen as doing a positive act within the law and that’s what we did.”