PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(17 December 2024)

Acts of anti-social behaviour (ASB) - such as the arrangement of illegal car meets – cause great harm, distress and nuisance to our communities, and, if left unchecked, can lead to even more serious offending. That is why tackling ASB is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission, and it is also why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and community support officers back on the beat to restore effective and visible neighbourhood policing in communities like Basingstoke.

As recently announced by the Home Secretary, the Respect Orders we will introduce in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will enable the courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaches of those orders will be a criminal offence, and the courts will have a wide range of sentencing options for those convicted, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.

The Home Office publishes statutory Guidance for police and local authorities on the use of the anti-social behaviour powers under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and this will be updated to include the Respect Order. The Respect Order will be piloted to ensure it is as effective as possible, before national roll-out.

Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers the police to issue a warning to anyone driving both in a careless and inconsiderate manner on road or off-road without consent and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. If the driver ignores the warning to stop the behaviour, the police can seize the vehicle. It is then only released on payment of prescribed fees.

The Home Office has recently announced plans to strengthen this law so that these vehicles can be seized by police when they are used to commit anti-social behaviour, including illegal street racing, without the necessity to issue a prior warning, thereby speeding up effective enforcement action and allowing the police to swiftly seize vehicles being used anti-socially.

The Home Office does not collect data on vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.