Woolwich police dispersal powers extended after Spray Street stabbing (From News Shopper)

Woolwich police dispersal powers extended after Spray Street stabbing

12:41pm Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News By Mark Chandler

POLICE dispersal powers will be extended in Woolwich after a fall in the area's crime rate since their introduction.

Officers can issue dispersal orders around the town centre and Connaught Estate for a further six months, following a decision by Greenwich Council cabinet member for community safety Councillor Maureen O'Mara.

Orders were originally introduced in September 2010 and have been credited with reducing assaults and disorder in the area, including confrontations between skateboarders and street drinkers in the refurbished General Gordon Square.

But a council report shows problems still remain, including a clash between 20 schoolboys outside Woolwich Arsenal station and a stabbing in Spray Street last October.

Knives have also been found hidden around General Gordon Square and, in January, a number of Romanian shoplifters needed to be dispersed from Powis Street.

Greenwich Council says it is also looking at improving the Waterfront skatepark by moving it to the Connaught Estate when that site is demolished. Existing bylaws may also be used to clamp down on skaters in the new square.