Public Space Protection Orders and Criminal Behaviour Orders

Public Space Protection Orders, Criminal Behaviour Orders, and Community Protection Orders have replaced ASBOs in England and Wales. These orders allow local councils to regulate behaviour and impose restrictions in certain areas. For instance, they can prohibit specific actions like loitering, or mandate corrective treatment for offenders. These orders aim to manage antisocial behaviour and are tailored according to the severity of the transgression. However, the effectiveness of these orders has been contentious.

Public Space Protection Orders, Criminal Behaviour Orders and Community Protection Orders have largely replaced ASBOs in England and Wales. (ASBOs are still handed out in Scotland.

These three control techniques are broadly in line with Right Realist approaches to crime control.

Public Space Protection Orders

Public Space Protection Orders – are a geographically defined version of ASBOs that could severely restrict people’s freedoms in urban space.

Public Space Protection orders have been used by local councils to pass extra laws in specific areas such as parks, town centres and car parks which prohibit people from doing things such as:

  • Letting dogs of leads
  • Drinking alcohol 
  • Loitering 
  • Revving car engines
  • Riding electric scooters. 

Examples of how PSPOs are used:

Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs)

The criminal behaviour order (among other things) replaced ASBOs in 2014 – these still require a person to abstain from antisocial behaviour but also stipulate that the person receiving the order undergo some kind course of corrective treatment (such as an anger management course). The order will also specify who is responsible for making the person undergo the correct treatment, and this effectively means that this strategy of crime control overlaps with the more left-realist focus on intervention and community empowerment.

There were approximately just under 1000 CBOs administered per year between 2015 and 2019. Numbers dropped in 2020, but that was the lockdown year so making comparisons is difficult, given that courts were not sitting! (Source, table FOI request). 

A recent example of a Criminal Behaviour Order being applied is to two prolific shoplifters in Grantham.In May 2023 Christopher Hay and Daniel Scoffield were giving orders banning them from entering any shops in Grantham unless accompanied by a support worker or other responsible adult. This is after both of them being found guilty of numerous shoplifting offences in the past. The CBO didn’t work to stop one of them who was jailed for six months in October 2023 for having stolen goods from four stores.

Two people awarded CBOs for prolific shoplifting…

Community Prevention Notices (CPNs)

Community Prevention Notices are more likely to be handed out for minor civil disputes. For example an analysis of 15 CPNs handed out in 2019 found that 3 of them were for untidy gardens and five related to poor control of animals (NOT necessarily dangerous dogs). Moreover the analysis found that 5 of them were disproportionate. 

Comparing CPNs and CBOs

Punishment Maximum penalty How long can it last 
Criminal Protection Notice (CPN)A fine between £100 and £2500. Unlimited 
Civil Injunction Up to 2 years imprisonment or an unlimited fine (over 18)Up to a 3 month detention order (under 18)Unlimited 
Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) Up to 5 years in prison or an unlimited fine (over 18)  Up to 2 years in a detention centre (under 18) No limit and reviewed every year (over 18) 1-3 years (under 18)

Punishments for Civil Injunctions

Signposting and sources

This material is mainly relevant to the Crime and Deviance Module within A-level sociology.