Policy response

CPNs • Policy response • PSPOs

Manifesto Club statement on Respect Orders

As we outlined in our recent briefing, Respect Orders are largely a replica of an existing power: the ASB Injunction (ASBI). Our research on ASBIs (written by University of York academics) shows that these powers have been subject to widespread overuse, including cases of people being imprisoned for feeding the birds, going into a prohibited area, sleeping rough, or in one case merely for asking for 50p. The majority of defendants were not represented in the breach hearing that led to their prison sentence. It is our view that Respect Orders will reproduce – and increase – the existing problems seen with…

CPNs • Dispersal powers • Policy response • PSPOs

ASB Powers Guidance: The civil liberties protections that are ignored

Anti-social behaviour powers such as Community Protection Notices (CPNs) and Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) allow officers to impose legal restrictions if they think someone’s behaviour is having a ‘detrimental effect’ on the ‘quality of life’. These powers are incredibly broad, but there are a number of important civil liberties protections in the Statutory Guidance. Unfortunately, these protections are generally ignored. We are calling on the Home Office and MPs to ensure that Statutory Guidance is respected, including through amendments to the current Crime and Policing Bill. Here is an outline of protections in the Statutory Guidance. 1. There should be no…

Policy response

What are ‘Respect Orders’?

‘Respect Orders’ have been trailed by the Labour Party for over two years, as a way of getting ‘tough’ on ‘hooligans’ and tackling ‘the virus that is anti-social behaviour’. These powers have finally been published in the Crime and Policing Bill. The Manifesto Club finds that Respect Orders replicate the defects and injustices of the current Civil Injunction, and will increase these injustices. Our response is below. Respect Orders are almost identical to the current Civil Injunction power. Like Civil Injunctions, Respect Orders can be issued on application by various state bodies to the High Court or county court, and can impose…

On-the-spot fines • Policy response

Now byelaws will become ‘busybody’ powers too

The English Devolution White Paper proposes to allow local councils to bring through byelaws without first seeking consent from the Secretary of State. It also proposes to allow councils to punish byelaw infractions by on-the-spot fine. The Manifesto Club response is as follows: “There are important checks that currently prevent unreasonable or overly restrictive byelaws. The requirement that the byelaws be affirmed by central government means that the relevant government department can check that they are ‘proportionate and reasonable‘, as required by the legislation. Government also supplies template byelaws, which are time-tested and fit with these specifications. A Home Office Circular from…