What are Public Spaces Protection Orders?
Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO’s) were brought into existence as part of a raft of changes on how authorities deal with reports of anti-social behaviour. Numerous different powers and orders were condensed down in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, 2014 and one of the new pieces of legislation was the introduction of PSPO’s.
The PSPO replaced three separate orders, these were the designated public spaces orders, gating orders and dog control orders and were introduced to address anti-social behaviour in public spaces. According to current figures, 128 PSPO’s are currently in place in England and Wales in 2024. An increase from 2023 where the figure was 91.
A public space is defined in the Prevention of Crime Act, 1953 as including any highway and any other premises or place to which at the material time, the public have or are permitted access either by payment or otherwise.
PSPO’s are powers given to local authorities in the UK to address anti-social behaviour in a public space. They are intended to improve the quality of life in communities by restricting or prohibiting certain activities in a public area which have caused the community a detrimental impact.
PSPO’s can require people to follow certain conditions, such as keeping their dogs under control on leads or prohibit certain activities such as drinking alcohol.
Local authorities have the power to draft and implement orders via their legal services teams, they must meet certain criteria and legal tests. In the application, there is use of information for example, police logs and so on, that provides the evidence for needing such orders. This is because they must be held to be necessary to reduce or stop the impact of such behaviour.
PSPO’s can last for a maximum of three years. They must be reviewed every year and at the end of the three-year period, if it is shown there is still a need for the PSPO then an application for a renewal must be drawn up.
Authorised persons can enforce PSPO’s. In terms of police, this means authorised by the Chief Constable of each county, so this would mean Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers. They can be any other officer designated by the relevant local authority.
Breaching a PSPO is held to be a criminal offence. It can result in a fine, via a fixed penalty notice starting from £100, through to a maximum of £1,000 – though this latter figure usually is connected to breach of alcohol PSPO.
Councils can consider exemptions for certain groups or a set of circumstances. One example of this would be assistance dogs in an area where a PSPO is in place restricting or prohibiting dogs in an area.
Each PSPO can be challenged. This must be done via a High Court and must be submitted within six weeks of the PSPO being put into place. Challenges though, usually have to be submitted by local residents, regular visitors to the area in question or the person who has been charged with the offence. The acceptable grounds for appeal are that either the local authority did not have the power to issue such an order or that the legislation relating to PSPO’s has not been followed.
What are some examples of Public Spaces Protection Orders?
Some examples include, but are not limited to:
• Banning the use of foul and abusive language – in response to the behaviour by some football fans en route to and exiting from football matches.
• Banning the use of psychoactive substances in a given area. This could include not to ingest, smoke, inhale or inject such substances.
• Banning excessive levels of noise nuisance, annoyance, danger or risk or harm or injury caused by motor vehicles to members of the public.