Anti-social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014

Debbie Redman, Service Manager – Tenancy Management

4 November 2015

The Date…

As of 20th OCTOBER 2014

Act fully is now fully in place

The Changes…

The main objectives/provisions of the Act are:

1. To focus the response to ASB on the needs of the victims

2. To empower communities to get involved in tackling ASB

3. To ensure that professionals can protect the public faster

4. It replaced 19 complex existing powers with six simple new ones

5. It introduced mandatory possession on ASB grounds

6. It extended the existing dangerous dogs legislation to private property 

7. Made some other changes to legislation relating to forced marriage, firearm possession and extradition  

Criminal Behaviour Orders

1. Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO)

This replaces the CRASBO

• The Order is designed to prevent behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress

• Available alongside conviction for any criminal offence and in any criminal court

• The order doesn’t have to be related to the offence they are convicted of, but can be used to address other behaviours

• Court must be satisfied that the person has ‘engaged in behaviour that caused, or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the offender’

• Hearsay evidence is admissible

• Maximum sentence of five years in prison for breach

• Will include prohibitions and positive requirements e.g. to attend drug rehabilitation

Injunction

2. Injunction to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance (IPNA)

•The injunction can be sought to ‘stop or prevent individuals over the age of 10 from engaging in conduct capable of causing nuisance and annoyance to any person;’ or to prevent the person engaging in ASB

•secured on civil burden of proof (balance of probabilities)

•can be sought by local authority, housing provider, police, British Transport Police, Transport for London, Environment Agency, NHS Protect

• a breach would be contempt of court and would carry up to two year’s imprisonment or an unlimited fine; for under 18s, a supervision order or detention order

• use of the injunction must be proportionate and the impact on vulnerable individuals must be considered

Public Space Protection Orders

4. Public Space Protection Order

• These Orders impose conditions on the use of an area, in order to address a nuisance or problem that is, or may become detrimental to the local community’s quality of life.

• an order is issued by the local authority (in consultation with police and local community) either to deal with existing problems or to prevent future problems

• the order will impose conditions on the way that an area is used and can apply to everyone using the space, or certain groups

• the order may prohibit behaviours and/or require specific things to be done

• no requirement for public notices

• orders may last up to three years and may be extended after review

• failure to comply with the restrictions would be a criminal offence, with maximum fine of £1,000 on conviction

• practitioners can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice of up to £100 as an alternative to prosecution.

Public Space Protection Orders

• Could be used for a range of things e.g.

• Requiring dogs to be kept on leads

• Exclude dogs from designated areas (e.g. children’s play area)

• Restrict number of dogs

• Restrict consumption of alcohol

• Restrict playing of music, busking, singing…..

Property closure notices and orders

5. Closure notices and orders

Replaced Crackhouse closure & premises Closure Orders

can be used by police or local authority

Two stages:

1. Closure Notice.

Closes the premises for up to 48 hours

No appeal

No requirement to go to court

Doesn’t stop the owner/residents from entering the property

2. Closure Order

issued by the court

can be for up to 6 months

breach of a closure order carries an unlimited fine &/or up to 6 months imprisonment

Dispersal orders and powers

6. Dispersal orders and powers

• Police power to disperse people causing ASB – requirement to leave an area and not return for 48 hours – consultation with the Council is required

• It can provide immediate respite to a community

• Must specify the area to which it relates and can determine the time and the route by which to leave

• Requires authorisation by a police Inspector

• Direction can be given to anyone over the age of 10

• Failure to comply – criminal offence with maximum penalty of £2500 and/or three months imprisonment, under 18’s cannot be imprisoned

• Requirement to hand over items to police, if causing or likely to cause ASB.

Dangerous Dogs

Dangerous Dogs

• The provisions of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 are amended so that an owner or person in charge of a dog is guilty of an offence if the dog is dangerously out of control in any place, extending the effect of the legislation on to private property.

• There is an exception for a householder case – where a dog is dangerously out of control in a dwelling, and the person who has been affected by the dog is a trespasser; or the owner of the dog believes the person is a trespasser.

• Police and council officers can seize a dog on private property where a dog appears to be dangerously out of control.

• In deciding whether someone can own a banned dog, or whether a dog is to be destroyed, regard can be had to whether the owner is a fit and proper person to be in charge of the dog.

Mandatory Possession Orders

Mandatory possession of dwellings on ASB grounds

The court must now grant possession if any of the following conditions exist:

1. Criminal conviction of a prescribed type (specified in Schedule 2A, Housing Act 1985)

2. Breach of an Injunction

3. Breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order

4. Issue of Closure Order (not notice)

5. Breach of s 80(4) abatement notice (but only in so far as it relates to noise emitted from the dwelling)

Applies to secure & assured tenancies and is available to private sector landlords

all of the above must have been proven in Court AND

the offences must have happened since 20/10/14

secure tenants of local housing authorities have statutory right to request a review of the decision to seek possession

court must grant possession subject to any available human rights defence (including proportionality)

Community Remedy

The Act introduces two new elements for victims of crime and / or ASB:

A community remedy

Police power to give victims of low level crime and ASB a say in the punishment of offenders out of court. Victims will get justice quickly, and the offender has to face immediate and meaningful consequences for their actions. 

The community trigger

Gives victims and communities the right to demand that agencies take action on repeated complaints about ASB, where no action has been taken.

•The trigger will invoke a review of a particular ASB case, taking into account evidence from all relevant bodies. For the purposes of this Act, Stevenage Borough Council and the Police are relevant bodies.

• An agreed trigger threshold is required and the County Community Safety Unit (CCSU) have agreed that this should comprise of ‘three reports from an individual about separate incidents of ASB within a six month period, or three individuals who have separately reported related ASB within a six month period.’

• Relevant bodies will carry out the reviews, and the procedure must be transparent. The trigger can be initiated by a third party (e.g. carer or family member) in the case of vulnerable victims and will be open to use by businesses as well as individuals.

Community Trigger Process

Application to use community trigger received

Operational Delivery Group (ODG) assess whether the application meets threshold

If accepted, relevant agencies are contacted & action agreed

ODG review actions

Applicant has right of appeal to Community Trigger Panel (Heads of Service & Police Chief Inspector)

Community Protection Notice (CPN)

The Community Protection Notice (CPN)

Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Act.

In summary:

Intended to stop persistent, unreasonable behaviour that is detrimental to the amenity of the locality, or is having a negative impact upon the local community’s quality of life

Can be issued by Council officers, Police officers, Community Support officers, and, if authorised by the Council, Social landlords if designated by the Council

issued to an individual or responsible person within a business or other organisation, to deal with a particular problem negatively affecting the community, must be over the age of 16

Requires a written warning to be issued first requesting that a specified action is to stop or a CPN will be issued

the notice could be used in a range of situations not addressed by the powers it is replacing, allowing areas to respond flexibly to local issues as they arise

non compliance or breach is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to £2,500 or £20,000 for businesses

the police and local authority can obtain a warrant from the court to enable them to enter an individual’s premises, to confiscate items used to breach the notice.

Community Protection Notice (CPN)

• Who can issue a CPN?

• Authorised officer of the LA

• Police

• PCSOs, if authorised

• RSLs, if designated by the Local Authority

How have these been used so far?

Community Trigger procedure with appeals process in placeASB Promise leaflet completed and given to all complainantsServed 16 CPN (community protection notice) warnings, served 14 CPN notices. Escalated two to court, both perpetrators received a fine for breaching the noticeClosed 4 Properties for serious nuisance, one terminated the tenancy, two evicted and one property closesure is still in placeMandatory possession procedure in place and appeals process. We have taken two cases for mandatory possession following a “serious” crimeASB Housemark Accreditation achieved for ASB Service in July 2015CPN’s have been used by Environmental Health (EH) in relation to over grown gardens and accumulation of rubbishEH have taken action in relation to dangerous dogs, however this power is now mainly used by the Police