Special police powers are in place in the area following a string of violent attacks
Police sealed off Birmingham High Street after the stabbing outside Primark on October 12(Image: Harry Leach/BirminghamLive)
A police dispersal order is in place in Birmingham city centre after two stabbings and a robbery in the area in just eight days.
Dispersal orders give police extra powers to break up groups of people and order them to leave a specific area if they believe their behaviour is causing distress.
The powers were introduced as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act.
READ MORE: Four arrests after robbery outside Birmingham Primark as armed police rush to scene
West Midlands Police said the powers were currently in place in the city centre.
It comes after two 17-year-old boys were stabbed in separate incidents in the space of just a week.
The first stabbing victim was attacked after a fight broke out near Next and the Bullring shortly after 5pm on Sunday, October 5.
He was rushed to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
The second attack, on Sunday October 12, saw another teenager stabbed on Birmingham High Street – just metres from where the first incident happened a week prior.
The victim suffered serious injuries and was rushed to hospital for treatment where he remains in a stable condition. The force said yesterday that it was hunting a ‘group’ said to be involved in the attack.
Armed officers also rushed to the same street last night, October 13, following reports of a robbery outside the city’s flagship Primark store.
Two people were threatened by a group who stole their phones before the victims managed to escape. Two men, both 18, and two boys, aged 16, were arrested on suspicion of robbery following the incident.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said this afternoon: “We currently have a dispersal order in place in the city centre with officers patrolling around the clock to keep the community safe.
“We’re working hard to tackle youth violence in Birmingham and across the West Midlands.”