UPDATE: Police have extended an order allowing them to stop and search people in parts of Bournemouth town centre – without the need to explain why.

The measure, under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, was initially put in place for 24 hours from 6pm on Friday (August 11), covering part of Bournemouth seafront, Bournemouth Lower Gardens and The Square.

Dorset Police said the move came ‘in response to recent violent incidents’.

Now, it has been extended for a further 24 hours, ending at 6pm this evening (Sunday, August 13), the maximum length of time the power can be used at any one time.

A force spokesperson said the emergency power has been implemented in response to a fatal stabbing in the area, other recent incidents of violence and concern that further violence may take place.

They said officers will also continue to proactively patrol the area defined in a special map, below, as part of Op Fireglow and Op Nightjar to apprehend people looking to cause serious violence and carrying dangerous instruments or offensive weapons.

Superintendent Ricky Dhanda said: “I have today authorised the extension of this power in order to allow our officers to search those who may be carrying weapons and go on to cause harm within our communities.

“I would like to reiterate that this power is a short-term preventative tactic to enable us to identify these individuals and keep people safe and forms part of a much wider partnership approach that is already underway to tackle serious violence, including visiting people known to vary knives, offering talks to schools and sharing information between agencies to identify possible young offenders early.”

The map laying out areas covered by the move, released by Dorset Police

POLICE have been given special powers to stop and search people – without needing to explain why.

Dorset Police said officers have been granted the authority for certain parts of the town centre ‘in response to recent violent incidents and to prevent further offences’.

The powers are allowed under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and apply for part of Bournemouth seafront, through Bournemouth Lower Gardens and The Square.

The order will be in place from 6pm on Friday, August 11, until 6pm this evening. It can be reviewed and extended for a further 24 hours, if appropriate, the force said.

A spokesperson said the emergency power had been implemented ‘in response to a fatal stabbing in the area, other recent incidents of violence and concern that further violence may take place’.

Section 60 can be implemented in areas where either serious violence has occurred or police believe serious violence is about to occur and gives officers the power to stop and search anyone in a designated location, without the restrictions of normal stop and search.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Mark Callaghan said: “The threshold to implement a Section 60 power is very high and we have taken the decision to use it over this weekend as a tactic to keep communities safe and do all we can to prevent serious violence.

“While Dorset remains the sixth safest county in the country, we are aware of the very real concern among our communities in relation to recent incidents of serious violence and knife crime.

Dorset Police Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Mark Callaghan

“Some young people think that carrying a knife will provide them protection, however, statistics show that carrying a knife or weapon actually means you are more likely to end up being hurt yourself as you can be seen as the threat.

“I hope by using this power we can provide reassurance to our communities that we are doing all we can to reduce these offences and prevent other people from coming to harm. We have engaged with our community groups and independent advisory groups as part of this work.”

He said he hoped the powers would also ‘send out a very strong message to those individuals who choose to carry knives that we simply will not tolerate it and will relentlessly pursue you’.

“If you go out armed with a knife, there is a very high chance that you will be stopped by officers and searched,” he added.

“The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison.

“We only use Section 60 as an emergency short-term tactic and this sits alongside a wide range of partnership and preventative work that is already taking place to tackle serious violence, including visiting people known to vary knives, offering talks to schools and sharing information between agencies to identify possible young offenders early.”