Understanding Community Protection Notices for Anti-Social Behaviour Regulation

What is it about?

The study explores the use of Community Protection Notices (CPNs) in England and Wales to regulate anti-social behavior (ASB). The study found that ASB practitioners utilize CPNs in divergent ways, with some practices compromising procedural safeguards and statutory guidance. The study provides recommendations for policy and legislative changes to improve procedural justice and legitimacy in the use of CPNs. The study highlights the need for consistent frontline practice and urges the Home Office to intervene to improve the quality and consistency of frontline ASB work.

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Photo by Ethan Wilkinson on Unsplash

Photo by Ethan Wilkinson on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This research is important because it is the first qualitative study into the practice of issuing Community Protection Notices (CPNs) in England and Wales, which explores how the powers are being utilized to regulate anti-social behavior (ASB) on the frontline. The research highlights the inconsistencies and challenges faced by practitioners in the issuing practice of CPNs, which affects the legitimacy and compliance of the process. The study provides a foundation for evidence-based recommendations for policy and legislative change to build procedural justice into a process-based model of ASB, which can improve legitimacy and compliance. Key Takeaways: 1. The study found that ASB practitioners utilize CPNs in divergent ways, with some practices shown to compromise procedural safeguards and to disregard statutory Home Office guidance. 2. The research proposes 10 evidence-based recommendations for policy and legislative change to improve the quality and consistency of frontline ASB work, which includes building process-based models of procedural justice into ASB practice. 3. The study highlights the need for urgent intervention by the Home Office to improve the quality and consistency of frontline ASB work, as the statutory guidance remains unchanged, there is a real risk that CPNs could encounter a crisis of legitimacy similar to ASBOs.