Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act

2014

Robert Emson :- Senior Housing Lawyer Home Group

John Allinson :- National ASB Manager Home Group

We are Home Group

Our mission is:

“to help our customers and clients to open doors to new

opportunities and healthy lives”.

• Home Group houses over 120,000 people a year,

managing 55,000 homes in over 200 local authority

areas in England, Scotland and Wales.

• Each year this includes working with almost 30,000

vulnerable people through 500+ supported housing,

justice and health services.

ASB

• Over 1390 cases this year

• Managed via React

• Risk based approach

• Dedicated ASB specialist in the North East.

• Home has secured over 70 orders in the last 9 weeks

Should we be concerned?

Based on the tools that we are already using

Does not affect the non-legal remedies that we currently use

Same principles of proportionality etc

Same court processes

Case law to ‘pass over’

Greater emphasis on partnership working and managing risk

What is new?

• New injunction *

• New absolute ground for possession *

• New discretionary grounds for possession * (already active)

• Community Trigger

• Community Remedy

• Criminal behaviour

order

• Dispersal power

• Community

protection notice

• Public spaces

protection order

• Closure Power

Civil Injunctions ( Part 1 of Act)

• From 23 March 2015

• Can be issued in the County Court ( Adult)

• Youth Court (10 to 17)

Injunction Order

Tool Criteria Age Applicant Burden of

proof

Content Court Length Breach

Injunction

(replaces

ASBI, ASBO,

DBO, ISO)

When

housing-

related:

‘nuisance and

annoyance’.

When non-

housing

related:

‘harassment,

alarm and

distress.’

10

years +

Local Authority

Police

Social Housing

provider

BTP

Environment

agency

NHS

Balance of

probabilities

Prohibitions and

requirements

Power of arrest when

threatening behaviour or

risk of harm

Can exclude an adult

from their home

County

Court (over

18)

Youth Court

(under 18)

Adults: as deemed

reasonable

Under 18:

maximum 12

months

Contempt of court – not

criminal offence

Beyond reasonable doubt

Adult: Fine or custody

Under 18: rehabilitation or

supervision order

Consultation Requirement

• YOT to be consulted when application made against someone

under 18 years;

• And inform any other body or individual that you believe is

appropriate eg. social services, mental health worker, youth

charity

• Must fully consider and take into account any representations

made

Exclusions

• Section 1: power to exclude person over 18 years from any premises or an area specified within the injunction.

• This can include their home when the ASB includes ‘the use, or threatened use, of violence against other persons, or there is a significant risk of harm’.

• Harm: “serious ill-treatment or abuse, whether physical or not.”

• Housing providers can only exclude people from properties they own

• Consideration of Article 8 and only used in extreme cases

Without Notice Applications (ex parte)

• When there is a threat of or actual violence

• Need to show genuine risk of harm

• Same process applies as for ASBI’s

• Consultation requirement delayed until after you have secured

the interim order

• Prohibitions only

Power of Arrest

• When there is a threat of or actual violence OR where there is a

significant risk of harm (physical or psychological)

• Unlikely to be appropriate for positive requirements

• Committal proceedings

Positive requirements

• Orders could can include positive requirements on the

respondent to address the causes of the ASB as well as

imposing prohibitions

• Individuals or organisations must be identified to supervise any

positive requirements

• The Court must receive evidence that the person responsible for

supervising compliance regarding suitability and enforcement.

New absolute ground for Possession

• Convicted of a serious offence (Schedule 2A Housing Act 1985)

• Commited after 20th October 2014

• Proceeding issued with 12 months of Conviction

• Found guilty of breaching civil injunction

• Proven breach of final ( not interim) order.

• Does not include breach of positive requirements

• Breach in dwelling or locality.

• Issued within 12 months

5 Triggers

• Convicted of breaching a CBO

• Breach within locality of dwelling

• Convicted of breaching a noise abatement notice or order

• Tenant, household or visitor

• Conviction under Section 80 of the Eniromental Protection ACT 1990 for

breach or Notice or Order.

• Tenant’s property closed for more than 48 hours under a closure

order for ASB.

• Must be issued within 3 months of Closure order

Requirements • Offence/breach must have occurred in the locality of the property or

affected the landlord or their staff/contractors

• Notice to expire no less than 4 weeks or a period of the tenancy

agreement before possession proceedings begin.

• Right to request a review within 7 days of service of Notice if landlord is

a LA or HT.

• No such requirement for HA but recommended

• When test met, court must grant a possession order (subject to any

human rights defence raised, including proportionality

Important changes

• Court will no longer have to consider if it is ‘reasonable’ to grant

the possession order or not

• Faster relief for victims & witnesses

• Save costs

• Free up court resources and time

• More flexibility to landlords

New discretionary grounds for possession

• Anti-social Behaviour directed towards a landlord’s employee

• Ground 14 of Schedule 2 Housing Act 1988 amended to include

this new provision

• Became active 13th May 2014 and therefore new wording should

be used in all NOSP’s now

New discretionary grounds for possession Ground 14

The tenant or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house—

(a)has been guilty of conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to a person residing, visiting or otherwise engaging in a lawful activity in the locality;

(aa) has been guilty of conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to the landlord of the dwelling-house, or a person employed (whether or not by the landlord) in connection with the exercise of the landlord’s housing management functions, and that is directly or indirectly related to or affects those functions;

Or

(b)has been convicted of—

(i)using the dwelling-house or allowing it to be used for immoral or illegal purposes, or

(ii)an indictable offence committed in, or in the locality of, the dwelling-house.

New discretionary grounds for possession

• Ground 14ZA (also became active 13th May 2014)

• “The tenant or an adult residing in the dwelling-house has been

convicted of an indictable offence which took place during, and

at the scene of, a riot in the United Kingdom.”

Community Trigger

• Not intended to replace/duplicate complaints process

• A partnership process that allows someone to have their case reviewed

to see whether appropriate action taken

• Review by councils, police, Clinical Commissioning Groups, and

Registered providers of social housing who are co-opted into this group

• Complainant must have a ‘qualifying’ complaint – must have reported

the ASB incident within a month of it occurring and must make an

application for an ASB case review within 6 months of making the

report.

The Process

• 1. Repeat incidents of ASB. No or inadequate response from agencies

• 2. Victim applies to activate Community Trigger and supplies details of incidents

• 3. Community Trigger is activated and a case review is required if victim has met local threshold of complaints within agreed timescale.

• 4. Collectively the agencies decide whether further action can be taken and produce an action plan

• 5. The action plan is discussed with the victim and a resolution to the problem is found.

Requirements

• Relevant bodies must share information for the purpose of carrying out the case review

• Must publish the Community Trigger procedure, including the point of contact for making an application

• Relevant bodies must devise and agree the procedure for the Community Trigger, including how reviews will be held

• Should include victim when devising action plan to ensure it meets their needs

• Relevant bodies must respond to victim at various stages in the process

• Relevant bodies must publish statistics relating to the Community Trigger

Community Trigger in practice

• Mrs Smith knows of the Community Trigger process as it is published and she makes the application to the single point of contact

• The application is assessed and it’s established that the matter reaches the threshold for a case review as Mrs Smith has made 3 complaints of ASB, all of which have been made within a month of the incidents occurring.

• The findings of the assessment of her application form are communicated to Mrs Smith (whether the threshold was made out or not)

• The matter is reviewed and recommendations can be made

• These recommendations are communicated to Mrs Smith. The relevant agency also has a duty to consider them in the course of their work

• Statistics relating to the process must be published annually, including:

– How many applications made? How many met threshold?

– How many reviews took place? How many had recommendations made?

Community Remedy

• Devised by Police (in consultation with Local Authority and

community)

• List of actions which can be applied where someone has caused

ASB or committed an offence and it is to be dealt with without

Court proceedings

• The action must achieve one or more of the following:

– Assist in the person’s rehabilitation

– Make reparation for the behaviour

– Punish the person

Criteria

• An authorised person must have evidence that the person has

engaged in ASB or committed an offence

• The person must admit the ASB or offence

• The person must agree to participate in the Community Remedy

• The authorised person believes there is enough evidence for an

injunction or a caution, but believes that a community resolution

is more appropriate

Criminal Behaviour Order

Criminal

Behaviou

r Order

(replaces

CRASBO

)

Tool Criteria Age Applicant Burden

of proof

Content Court Length Breach

Criminal

Behaviour

Order

(replaces

CRASBO)

Convicted of

offence and

caused

harassment,

alarm &

distress and

order

needed to

prevent

further

behaviour

10

years +

Prosecutor

(police)

Beyond

reasonable

doubt

Prohibitions

and

requirements

Criminal

courts

Adult:

2 years +

Under 18:

1-3 years

Fine or

custody or

both

Dispersal Powers

Tool Criteria Age Applicant Burden

of proof

Content Court Length Breach

Dispersal

powers

(amends

current

dispersal

powers)

The presence or

behaviour of

individual has

caused

harassment,

alarm, distress,

crime or disorder,

and direction will

remove or reduce

likelihood of

reoccurrence

10

years

+

Uniformed

constable or

person with

delegated

power

Reasonable

grounds

In writing

Specify location

applicable to

Time and method

on when/how to

leave

Surrender of

property linked to

causing

harassment, alarm

and distress

N/A Up to 48

hours

Criminal offence

Direction to leave

– fine, custody or

both

Direction to

surrender - fine

Community Protection Notice Tool Criteria Age Applicant Burden

of proof

Content Court Length Breach

Community

Protection

Notice (replaces

Environmental

powers eg.

littering notices

Behaviour has

detrimental

effect on quality

of life, is

persistent or

continuing and

is unreasonable.

Must have

written warning

and time to

right wrong

before issued.

16

years

+

Police

constable

Person with

delegated

powers

Reasonable

Grounds

Requirement to

stop doing

something, do a

specified action

or take

reasonable

steps to achieve

specific result or

prevent or

reduce the

detriment

caused

None

(appeal

to

magistr

ates)

N/A Local authority may complete

works and re-charge

Fixed penalty notice

Criminal proceedings –fine

only

Remedial order to right harm

Forfeiture or seizure

Public Spaces Protection Order Tool Criteria Age Applican

t

Burden

of proof

Content Court Length Breach

Public

Spaces

Protectio

n Order

(replaces

gating

orders,

DPPO’s,

dog

control

orders)

Activities in area

have had

detrimental

effect on quality

of life and are

likely to continue

or;

these activities

are likely to occur

and activities are

continuing/persis

tent,

unreaosnable,

and justify

restrictions being

made

n/a Local

Authority

Reasonabl

e grounds

Prohibits

specific

things or

requires

specific

things or

both

None

(challenges

to High

Court)

3 years (can be

repeatedly extended

by 3 years each

time)

Fixed penalty notice

Criminal proceedings –

fine only

Closure Order Tool Criteria Age Applican

t

Burden

of proof

Content Court Length Breach

Closure of

premises

associated

with

nuisance or

disorder

(consolidate

existing

closure

powers)

Up to 48

hours:

Nuisance to

the public or

disorder

near the

premises.

Up to 6

months:

Disorderly,

offensive or

criminal

behaviour,

serious

nuisance to

the public or

disorder

near the

premises

N/A Local

authority

Police

Balance of

probabilities

Close

property for

up to 3

months (can

extend for up

to an

additional 3

months)

Magistrates

Court

Up to 6

months

in total

Criminal offence to remain on or

enter the property or obstruct a

person in execution of these

proceedings – custody , fine or

both

What does it all mean.

• Update policy, process guides and customer statement.

• Review process for mandatory possession (suggested).

• Equality assessment ( Equality note)

• Paper work • NOSP absolute and section14ZA

• Proportionality Assessment

• Certificate of consultations

• Closure

• Injunction

• Positive requirements reports

What else

• Guidance from the Data Commissioner on applying for

disclosure. (Subject access rights)in force from 1/12/2014

• New guidance on CCTV uses and self assessment tool in force

from 10/12/2014.