Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act: anti-social behaviour

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their own homes and neighbourhoods. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 seeks to put victims first, giving power to local people and enabling professionals to find the best solutions for their local area. The act provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour.

These include:

• Civil Injunctions
• Criminal Behaviour Orders
• Public Spaces Protection Orders
• Community Protection Notices
• the Dispersal Power
• the Closure Power

The act also includes measures such as the Community Remedy and Community Trigger which empowers victims and communities to have a say in the outcome of their reports and hold agencies to account.

The Anti-social Behaviour Strategic Board has developed a set of principles which seek to describe a consistent approach to understanding and addressing anti-social behaviour (ASB) in local communities.

How to report anti-social behaviour

Contact your local council or your local neighbourhood policing team to report anti-social behaviour.

If you wish to remain anonymous when reporting, you can also contact Crimestoppers.

You can also get help and advice in England and Wales from organisations such as:

• ASB Help
• Resolve
• Victim Support
• Victim Support Wales
• Local Government Association who have also published best practice as good examples of local authorities tackling and preventing forms of anti-social behaviour
• Welsh Local Government Association
• The Knowledge Hub – this is an information sharing platform for police and practitioners, therefore you will require a police email or .gov email to be granted access

The anti-social behaviour measures in this act are contained in Parts 1 to 6.

Part 1 – Injunctions

This is a purely civil injunction, available in the county court for adults and the youth court for 10 to 17 year olds. It allows a wide range of agencies, including the police, local councils and social landlords to deal quickly with anti-social individuals, nipping behaviour in the bud before it escalates.

Part 2 – Criminal Behaviour Orders

This is available following a conviction for any criminal offence and can address the underlying causes of the behaviour through new, positive requirements. Breach is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison for adults. It demonstrates to the offender and the community the seriousness of the breach.

Part 3 – Dispersal Powers

This enables officers to require a person who has committed, or is likely to commit, anti-social behaviour to leave a specified area and not return for up to 48 hours.

Part 4 – Community Protection Notices

This part is split into 3 chapters covering Community Protection Notices, Public Spaces Protection Orders and Closure Orders. These new powers are faster, more effective and available to more agencies to use to tackle a whole range of place-specific anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Part 5 – Recovery of possession of dwelling-houses: anti-social behaviour grounds

Anti-social behaviour can have a negative impact on neighbourhoods and communities. Social landlords have a key role in tackling anti-social behaviour. Provisions in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act introduced a ground for possession to speed up the process in the most serious cases of anti-social behaviour bringing faster relief to victims and communities.

Part 6 – Local involvement and accountability

The Community Remedy gives victims of low-level crime and anti-social behaviour a say in the punishment of the offender out of court, whilst the Community Trigger gives victims of persistent anti-social behaviour the right to demand action where they feel that their problems have not been dealt with.

Return to the main page of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act

Archived documents

• Information note: public and open spaces
• Information note: Japanese knotweed
• Information note: noisy neighbours
• Information note: young people
• Information note: drunken behaviour in public places
• Information note: harassment or intimidation
• Information note: bullying
• Information note: groups hanging around
• Information note: litter and rubbish
• Information note: drugs and anti-social behaviour
• Fact sheet: replacing the ASBO
• Fact sheet: anti-social behaviour reforms overview
• Fact sheet: community empowerment
• Fact sheet: environmental anti-social behaviour
• Fact sheet: eviction
• Fact sheet: dispersal powers
• Draft regulations: Absolute ground for possession for anti-social Behaviour (review procedure)
• Draft regulations: publication of Public Spaces Protection Orders
• Community Remedy impact assessment
• Community Protection Notice, Community Protection Order and Community Trigger impact assessment
• Criminal Behaviour Order, Injunction and Dispersal Powers impact assessment
• Eviction impact assessment