Festival Leisure Park is executing Operation Microwave.
As part of the working relationship that Essex Police have with Festival Leisure Park, over the coming months, the recent operation saw police implementing section 27 of the Violent Crime and Reduction Act 2006. This gives them the power to issue a direction to an individual aged 16 years or over to leave the site for up to 48-hours without the need to use a dispersal order.
Anyone caught behaving in an anti-social way or creating alcohol-related disorder will be told by police to leave. Pitsea Neighbourhood Sgt Jon McLeod, part of the policing team responsible for the Festival Leisure area is positive about this partnership and the work being carried out. He said: “This is a great operation to ensure that we can keep anti-social behaviour at the site low, in turn increasing the quality of enjoyment of people visiting the park.
“Considering there were 2.9 million visitors to Festival Leisure last year, there has historically always been a relatively low amount of incidents. This is down to the great work of the security team and we hope for this success to continue with our support.”
The park already has its own Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera, which scans people’s number plates that enter the site. If any person is wanted for an offence, or has no insurance, tax or MOT, it will be detected by the camera. “The ANPR technology itself should be a warning to criminals: if you visit the site, we will catch you,” Sgt McLeod added.
Every member of the security team is CSAS (Community Safety Accreditation Scheme) accredited, meaning that they are all recognised as an extended member of the police family. This gives them the authority to exercise certain powers, including powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to individuals carrying out certain acts, including acts of anti-social behaviour. As a recognised member of the extended police family, it also means if a person is arrested for assaulting security staff, they will be dealt with in the same way that a person assaulting a police officer would be.
Property Manager Warren Blanchfield is proud of the positive reputation Festival Leisure Park has built up. He said: “Our site has always been a safe and enjoyable place to visit for club-goers and families. Our security team work hard with the police to keep it this way.
“There are a few individuals that cause trouble here, and we want to send out a no-nonsense message for them not to come here.
“We recognise the importance in working closely with police, so much so that we are currently in the process of setting up a police office here for them to use as a permanent base. We want Festival Leisure to be the safest place in Essex for people to come and enjoy themselves, and with this partnership working underway, we are well on the way to achieving this.”
