Increased police presence in Chester to keep residents and racegoers safe

Officers will be out in force this weekend to keep our city safe for residents and racegoers.

On Sunday 6 August, thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the city centre for the latest race day at the historic racecourse.

Additional patrols will be deployed across the weekend to help keep everyone safe. In addition, to help support the operation, a dispersal order will also be in place from 10am on Sunday 6 August until 5am on Monday 7 August.

The dispersal order will allow officers to ban anyone from the town for up to 48 hours to prevent disorder.

It has been imposed under Section 34 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, making it an offence for anyone to return to a specific area for up to 48 hours.

The area covered by the order is highlighted in the mapped area. The map is provided to anyone issued with a direction to leave.

Inspector James Wilson said:

“The races are expected to bring thousands of visitors to the city this weekend and we are working with our partners at the Chester Race Course to ensure that everyone enjoys their time here, whether that’s as a racegoer, resident or business.

“With that in mind, we will have an increased presence in the area as well as the deployment of the dispersal order in place. I want to be clear that issuing dispersal orders is not officers ‘taking this behaviour lightly’, in fact, these orders allow us to take robust action.

“These orders are an additional tactical option that allow us to directly combat anti-social behaviour head on.

“I would urge residents and businesses to continue to report any issues with anti-social behaviour so that we can address these issues.”

Anyone with information about anti-social behaviour in their area is urged to contact Cheshire Police via the Cheshire Police website or call 101.