POLICE have said that they will continue to closely monitor a village community after it enacted stop and search powers over the weekend.
The Section 60 order was put in place for Crowthorne and parts of Sandhurst, initially for 24 hours, from 2pm on Friday, October 2, through to 2pm on Monday, October 4.
Officers said it was needed after receiving “specific intelligence” of pre-arranged fights being organised between groups of youths and the discovery of discarded weapons in the area.
And over the course of the weekend, Thames Valley Police said that they conducted a large number of searches, but found no weapons.
This, Superintendent Felicity Parker, said meant that the order had had the desired effect in preventing outbreaks of violence.
In a statement, Local Policing Area Commander for Bracknell and Wokingham, said: “Prevention is clearly always preferable to the need to respond to incidents, and so I hope that our actions have been re-assuring to the local community.
“Our high visibility patrols had the desired effect of deterring people from carrying weapons.”
She warned that the force would reimpose the Section 60 order if necessary and continue to monitor Crowthorne and Sandhurst, with a visible police presence.
“I would issue a stark warning to anybody who feels that they can carry weapons, that our officers will still be able to apply their ordinary stop and search powers,” she said.
And Supt Parker said that the force was grateful to the community for their support over the weekend.
“I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the residents of Crowthorne and Sandhurst who were affected by this order,” she said.
“I would also like to thank our partners for their support with this operation, especially the local schools for their work with pupils and parents, and the youth workers who joined officers during their patrols.
“This order was put in place as a preventative measure and to re-assure you all. We will always listen to local concerns and act accordingly to keep our communities safe.”
She also appealed for help: “If you have any information, please don’t hesitate to speak to one of our officers, or call the 24-hour non-emergency number 101”.
