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Dispersal zones across Edinburgh are due to kick in on Halloween for six days in a bid to curb antisocial behaviour across the city in the coming days. Edinburgh has been the centre of shocking scenes of carnage in recent years around Bonfire night with locals terrified by masked youths running riot and turning the area into a no-go zone. In Sighthill last year, fireworks were aimed at cars and a petrol station and were also used to attack emergency service personnel, public transport and shops. Dispersal zones will be enforceable to help prevent anti-social behaviour and keep communities safe from October 31 to November 5 from 2pm to midnight every day, with officers given powers to take action where needed. The zones cover multiple parts of the city from north to south and east to west. It comes after police promised a record level of resources to tackle Bonfire Night disorder last week. In 2023, some 62 police officers were injured in disorder around the fireworks season across Scotland. Overall, fireworks offences have reduced, but an increased targeting of emergency services has prompted cops to promise a tougher crackdown this year. Frontline officers in Edinburgh will be equipped with Body Worn Video, as the national roll-out of this technology continues in a bid to track down offenders. Ashwin Raj, who works at the BP petrol station on Calder Road which was targeted last, explained to the Record this weekend they are taking measures to prevent any serious incidents . He said: "They [youths] just jumped into the garage campus and pulled out waste and cardboard, and set fire to it on the road. The police have come round and given us advice, and head office told us to keep all the wood and flammable items inside. We'll increase our staff on the night as well. "But, without our access they can't do anything. The alarm [would ring behind the counter]. So if anything happened, we can stop [the petrol] completely from here." He added he believes the youths are wreaking havoc now, before they turn 18, so they can't be charged as adults. Brian Feggans, who works in Sighthill Appliances, just off Calder Road, said he thinks those involved involved have "no morals and no respect". He recalled: "Last year, the younger ones were throwing fireworks in the door. Thankfully nothing was damaged, but we'll be keeping the door closed this year. Muhammad Abdullah manages the Day-Today shop across the road. He said: "There were disturbing scenes last year. They just set fires on the road and they burned tyres and they just, they broke all the, you know, the [car] showroom. "I was just bringing my wife home back from her job and I saw some guys who were throwing stones and they had some kind of baseball bat with them. It was very scary. So I am very hopeful that this year it's not going to happen the same as previously."
