THE Sussex Square dispersal order will prove to be a very positive move, provided everybody involved retains a clear head.
It would be ridiculous for anybody to say antisocial behaviour is not a problem there.
It has been a problem for a long time, with business owners and the public alike suffering the attentions of unruly, threatening groups.
It would be equally ridiculous to suggest that every group gathering there is antisocial, as squares such as this are clearly intended as places for people to meet friends and catch up with news, as they still do in many ancient village squares.
The police must now master the unenviable task of sorting the problem groups from the innocent ones.
We can only hope they operate on a strict situation-by-situation basis, and that rowdy people are first be asked to calm down. If they respond with any form of dissent, they should be moved on without hesitation – and shall have only themselves to blame.
People who congregate in the square have responsibility to other members of the public not to make the location a no-go area.
If they persist with unruly behaviour after being warned not to, they shall have no right to complain of being hard done by when the inevitable happens.
The rules are only in place because there has been a problem, and as long as everybody plays by those rules there will be far less of a problem.
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