What is dispersal power?
Refer to the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, 2014.
The dispersal power is a flexible power which the police can use in a range of situations to disperse anti-social individuals and provide immediate short-term respite to the local community. The power is preventative, allowing an officer to deal quickly with someone’s behaviour and deal with the problem before it escalates.
Who can use dispersal powers?
• Police Constable in uniform
• Police Community Support Officer (PCSO)
What conditions must be met to use dispersal powers?
A constable in uniform or Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) may use dispersal powers to direct a person who is in a public place to leave the locality of that place and not to return for a specified period (maximum 48 hours) if two conditions are met:
1. The constable has reasonable grounds to suspect that the presence or behaviour of the person in the locality has contributed to or is likely to contribute to members of the public in the locality being harassed, alarmed or distressed, or the occurrence in the locality of crime or disorder.
2. The constable considers that giving a direction to a person under this section is necessary for the purpose of removing or reducing the likelihood of the events mentioned in (1.) The constable may also require the surrender of an item being used to harass, alarm or distress members of the public.
Directions must be given in writing (unless not practicable), specifying the locality to which it relates and imposing requirements as to the time by which the person must leave and how they must do so (including the route). The constable should tell the person that failing without reasonable excuse to comply with the direction is an offence. If the constable reasonably believes that the offender is under 16, he/she may remove the person to a place where the person lives or a place of safety.
This power is designed to combine the most effective elements of the various current police powers into a single, less bureaucratic police power. A significant limitation in pre-2014 police powers to disperse individuals causing ASB is that they had to be agreed in advance and could only be used in a pre-arranged area.
These powers are used to maintain public safety and reduce the likelihood of harassment, alarm, or disorder in a locality. A breach is a criminal offence and carries a maximum penalty of a level 4 fine (currently £2,500) and/or three months imprisonment (section 39).
A breach of a dispersal power can be used as evidence to progress with other tools and powers, such as an injunction or a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) if a particular individual was persistently causing ASB, or for a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) where a community is being affected.
Our thoughts
From a practical perspective, consideration should be given to management and impact on resources when dispersing a young person if removing to a place of safety. If that place is the young person’s home, and this is not appropriate at that time (e.g. no one at home), therefore time is taken up arranging for alternatives.
In a fast-moving situation, where groups can quickly convene to cause ASB or disorder and then move to different areas, this power can be very effective.
Partnership working is vital for the effective implementation of the dispersal power so that longer term solutions can be considered. The nature of the ASB, Crime and Policing Act is that all the tools can be used flexibly, for example, a breach of a dispersal power can be used as evidence to progress with other tools and powers, such as an injunction or a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) if a particular individual was persistently causing ASB, or for a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) where a community is being affected.