Citation 2014 c. 12 Royal assent 13 March 2014 | Territorial extent England and Wales Commencement in force | |
 | ||
Long title An Act to make provision in connection with anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder, including provision about recovery of possession of dwelling-houses, to make provision amending the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, the Police Act 1997, Schedules 7 and 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000, the Extradition Act 2003 and Part 3 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011; to make provision about firearms, about sexual harm and violence and about forced marriage; to make provision about the police, the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Serious Fraud Office; to make provision about invalid travel documents; to make provision about criminal justice and court fees; and for connected purposes. Introduced by Theresa May and John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Holbeach | ||
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which greatly expanded law enforcement powers in addressing anti-social behaviour. The Act replaced anti-social behaviour orders, the primary civil order in the United Kingdom since 1998, with criminal behaviour orders. Home Secretary Theresa May and John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Holbeach introduced the legislation.
The focus of the Act was to streamline the tools and powers available to frontline agencies in dealing with anti-social behaviour. Previously there had been 19 different powers, but these were reduced to a base of 6. They are:
The focus for the Act was on putting victims first, and the powers are designed to be quicker to implement so that victims get respite from anti-social behaviour faster. With the exception of the criminal behaviour order, the remainder can be processed through the civil courts which allows for a lower burden of proof and thus makes it easier for agencies to obtain. The Act also set out an absolute possession enabling Councils and Housing Association to evict anti-social tenants already found guilty of ASB.
To put victims first, there were also two measures introduced in this Act to enable victims to have their say:
- Community Remedy - whereby victims can have a say in what type of punishment would be appropriate for the offender (e.g. clean up graffiti)
- Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review - also called Community Trigger. A victim can insist on a multi-agency review of their case if they have reported the problem 3 times in the past 6 months and yet the problem has not yet been resolved.
The Act also created Sexual Risk Orders, which can require suspects to give police advanced notification of intention to engage in sexual activities or face prison sentences. The SROs, requested by police, are issued by magistrates.
The Act also created several new offences relating to forced marriage:
The latter two offences are defined separately for England and Wales and for Scotland. They apply to any marriage ceremony even if not legally binding.