Leicester disorder: Dozens stopped and searched as police granted extra powers

Dozens of people were searched and others dispersed amid outbreaks of disorder in Leicester.

Police were granted extra powers - to stop and search without reasonable grounds and to return anyone under 16 to their home - on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

The powers applied in the Belgrave, Rushey Mead and Spinney Hill areas.

It comes after disturbances in the city following an Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan in Dubai last month.

Discussing the dispersals, Leicestershire Police said: "As part of a proactive policing plan, dispersal powers under Sections 34 and 35 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 were put in place from 8pm until 6am today (Wednesday).

"In addition, powers were also granted under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which allowed officers to stop and search anyone in a specific area without needing to have reasonable grounds."

A total of 131 people were stopped and searched, police confirmed, while 18 were dispersed.

There were also four arrests:

Last night, temporary chief constable Rob Nixon issued a message on the police website and social media explaining why the extra police powers had been authorised.

In the video, he said: "I'm very aware that there is a lot of tension across some parts of our city.

"This has emanated from an incident that occurred on 28 August following the cricket match."

He said there had since been two further incidents - one on Bridge Road and another in the Cottesmore Road area.

No details of these have yet been released by the force.

He said: "All three of those separate investigations are being robustly followed up.

"We've identified five people liked to the incident on 28 August and we're just in the process of putting names to those individuals."

Mr Nixon said police had been encouraged to use the powers "so if people are out and about with face coverings, carrying weapons I would expect my officers to proactively take action".

He added: "It is totally unacceptable for people to go out and cause violence on the streets of Leicester. It will not be tolerated."

"We need to galvanise together to stop any escalation of this incident and I would encourage you to work with us and support us as we restore calm to the city."

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Nixon - who joined officers on patrol - added: "Sadly, what I saw yesterday evening was a minority of people intent on causing some disturbance.

"Despite requests into the community this small minority persisted which resulted in my team using their powers."

The force said "proactive, high-visibility patrols" would continue.

Later in the day, police also confirmed that further dispersal orders would be in place from 19:00 BST on Wednesday to 06:00 on Thursday.

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