Anti-social behaviour power pilot U-turn as ministers ‘want to get on with it’

A new power to tackle persistent and disruptive anti-social behaviour will not be trialled before rollout, a Home Office minister has confirmed.

The Government had previously said so-called respect orders would initially be piloted, but Parliament heard there had been a rethink and this was no longer the case.

Explaining the U-turn, Labour frontbencher Lord Hanson of Flint said it was to ensure the measure, which was a commitment in the party’s election manifesto, would be introduced without further delay.

Unlike existing civil injunctions, a breach of a respect order would be a criminal offence enforceable by arrest.

Respect orders would enable the courts, on application by the police, council or other authorities, to place conditions on troublemakers aged 18 or over aimed at addressing their anti-social behaviour, such as banning them from a public park where they have been drunk and aggressive, and requiring their attendance at an alcohol awareness class.

Lord Hanson was pressed by Liberal Democrat Baroness Doocey over the change of heart on the pilot given then policing minister Dame Diana Johnson had said in April that they would be trialled “to ensure they are as effective as possible before rolling them out across England and Wales”.

Lady Doocey said: “So, what has changed between then and now that you’ve changed your mind?”

Responding, Lord Hanson said: “We’ve determined now that we want to get on with this.

“The Government wants to have a manifesto commitment that it made in July 2024 implemented in good time.

“Even now that manifesto commitment will take us potentially nearly two years to put in place.

“I think that’s a reasonable process and we have consulted widely on the respect orders, and that’s the position of the Government now.”

Crime and Policing Bill

The measure is being introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which the Government has said would support the delivery of its “safer streets” mission.

The draft law, which has already been through the Commons, would bring in wide-ranging criminal justice reforms covering a broad range of topics, including retail crime, criminal exploitation of children, stalking, police powers and abortion.

Referring to the use of the new respect orders, the minister said: “We’re not seeking to be punitive. We’re seeking to be preventative.

“I hope that nobody will be sanctioned by the legislation for breaching an order. The whole purpose is to put some behaviour modification in place to stop poor behaviour or to encourage help and support to overcome the reasons why that poor behaviour has taken place in the first place.”

He added: “The respect order is not a punishment unless breached. It’s intending that upon receiving a respect order, the offender would, I hope, cease the behaviour and there will be no further sanctions.

“I hope some provision is only made for punishment where an offender ignores their respect order and continues to cause harassment, alarm or distress.”

Lord Hanson told peers: “An individual would be warned to not do something or encouraged to do something, and if they don’t do either, then they are subject to arrest.”

Age threshold

Earlier, Conservative former Home Office minister Lord Blencathra called for the age threshold to be lowered for respect orders so they could be applied to those aged 14 and above.

The Tory peer said: “We’re not intervening early enough or our interventions are ones which we make through rose-tinted spectacles believing all little kiddies can be saved by a bit of restorative justice and endless cautions.

“We are failing. All governments have failed over 30 years to tackle youth offending rigorously when bad behaviour starts.”