Protecting Citizens and the Community - Injunctions Flashcards
Section 34 of the 2009 Act, as amended, states:
(1)
A court may grant an injunction under this section against a respondent aged 14 or over if the first and second conditions are met.
(2)
The first condition is that the court is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the respondent has engaged in or has encouraged or assisted—
(a)
gang-related violence, or
(b)
gang-related drug-dealing activity.
(3)
The second condition is that the court thinks it is necessary to grant the injunction for either or both of the following purposes—
(a)
to prevent the respondent from engaging in, or encouraging or assisting, gang-related violence or gang-related drug-dealing activity;
(b)
to protect the respondent from gang-related violence or gang-related drug-dealing activity.
(4)
An injunction under this section may (for either or both of those purposes)—
(a)
prohibit the respondent from doing anything described in the injunction;
(b)
require the respondent to do anything described in the injunction.
(5)
For the purposes of this section, something is ‘gang-related’ if it occurs in the course of, or is otherwise related to, the activities of a group that—
(a)
consists of at least three people, and
(b)
has one or more characteristics that enable its members to be identified by others as a group.
(6)
In this section ‘violence’ includes a threat of violence.
(7)
In this Part ‘drug-dealing activity’ means—
(a)
the unlawful production, supply, importation or exportation of a controlled drug, or
(b)
the unlawful production, supply, importation or exportation of a psychoactive substance.
Injunctions to Prevent Gang-related Violence and Drug Dealing Activity
The Policing and Crime Act 2009 provides courts with the power to grant injunctions to prevent gang-related violence and drug dealing activity.
These injunctions are a civil tool allowing the police or local authority to apply to the High Court, a county court or, in the case of juveniles, a youth court (sitting in a civil capacity), for an injunction against an individual who has been involved in gang-related violence or drug dealing activity. A range of prohibitions and requirements on the behaviour and activities of a person can be included in an injunction, such as prohibiting someone from being in a particular place or requiring them to participate in rehabilitative activities (s. 35).
The court may attach a power of arrest in relation to (a) any prohibition in the injunction, or (b) any requirement in the injunction other than one which has the effect of requiring the respondent to participate in particular activities (s. 36). Where a power of arrest is attached to a provision, a constable may arrest without warrant a person whom the constable has reasonable cause to suspect to be in breach of the provision. The constable must inform the person who applied for the injunction of the arrest, and the person arrested must be brought before a judge of the court that granted the injunction within 24 hours of the arrest (s. 43).
In relation to subs. (7)(a), ‘controlled drug’ has the meaning given by s. 37(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and for subs. (7)(b) ‘psychoactive substance’ has the meaning given by s. 59 of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
Injunctions under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
An application for a civil injunction for dealing with anti-social behaviour must be made to a youth court where the respondent is under 18 years of age or to the High Court or county court in any other case (s. 1(8)(a) and (b)). Such an application can only be made by the police, the local authority and other specified bodies (s. 5(1)).
A youth court may give permission for an application for an injunction against a person aged 18 or over to be made to the youth court if an application to the youth court has been made, or is to be made, for an injunction against a person aged under 18, and the youth court thinks that it would be in the interests of justice for the applications to be heard together (s. 18(2)).
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, s. 1 provides a regime of injunctions for dealing with anti-social behaviour and states:
(1)
A court may grant an injunction under this section against a person aged 10 or over (‘the respondent’) if two conditions are met.
(2)
The first condition is that the court is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the respondent has engaged or threatens to engage in anti-social behaviour.
(3)
The second condition is that the court considers it just and convenient to grant the injunction for the purpose of preventing the respondent from engaging in anti-social behaviour.
(4)
An injunction under this section may for the purpose of preventing the respondent from engaging in anti-social behaviour—
(a)
prohibit the respondent from doing anything described in the injunction;
(b)
require the respondent to do anything described in the injunction.
(5)
Prohibitions and requirements in an injunction under this section must, so far as practicable, be such as to avoid—
(a)
any interference with the times, if any, at which the respondent normally works or attends school or any other educational establishment;
(b)
any conflict with the requirements of any other court order or injunction to which the respondent may be subject.
(6)
An injunction under this section must—
(a)
specify the period for which it has effect, or
(b)
state that it has effect until further order.
In the case of an injunction granted before the respondent has reached the age of 18, a period must be specified and it must be no more than 12 months.
(7)
An injunction under this section may specify periods for which particular prohibitions or requirements have effect.
Application Procedure
A written application must be made to the court by way of complaint and be supported by evidence of the matters of which the court must be satisfied under s. 1 of the Act and state the terms of the injunction applied for.
Before making an application for an injunction in the youth court there is a formal requirement for the applicant to consult with the local youth offending team and to inform any other body or individual considered appropriate (s. 14). This could include a social landlord (when an application is made by another body against one of its tenants) or a mental health team.
‘Anti-social behaviour’ is defined by s. 2 of the Act which states:
(1)
In this Part ‘anti-social behaviour’ means—
(a)
conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person,
(b)
conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises, or
(c)
conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person.
Anti-social Behaviour
In relation to ‘likely to cause’ (s. 2(1)(a)), it was held that the prosecution was not required to prove that the offending behaviour was actually witnessed but that it took place in circumstances where it was likely to be witnessed and likely, if witnessed, to cause harassment, alarm or distress (R (On the Application of Gosport Borough Council v Fareham Magistrates’ Court [2006] EWHC 3047 (Admin)).
‘Likely’ means more probable than not (Chief Constable of Lancashire v Potter [2003] EWHC 2272 (Admin)).
In Birmingham City Council v Afsar [2019] EWHC 1560 (QB), the court held that an injunction could be granted for protests thereby prohibiting anti-social utterances and assemblies where it was shown to be necessary and proportionate.
Prohibitions or Requirements
The injunction could include prohibitions or requirements that assist in the prevention of future anti-social behaviour (s. 1(3)). Such prohibitions may include, for example, not being in possession of a can of spray paint in a public place, not entering a particular area, or not being drunk in a public place. Requirements would be designed to deal with the underlying causes of an individual’s anti-social behaviour and could include, for example, attendance at an alcohol or drugs misuse course or dog training in the case of irresponsible dog owners.
Where an injunction imposes requirements on the respondent, it must specify the person (an individual or an organisation) who is responsible for supervising compliance (s. 3). The court must receive evidence on the suitability and enforceability of a requirement from this person. Such individuals or organisations could include the local authority, youth offending teams, recognised providers of substance misuse recovery or dog training providers for irresponsible dog owners.
Time Limits
There is no minimum or maximum term for the injunction for adults, so the court may decide that the injunction should be for a specified period or an indefinite period. However, in the case of injunctions against under-18s, the maximum term is 12 months (s. 1(6)). The duration of any prohibitions or requirements may be shorter than the duration of the injunction itself.
Section 4 provides officers with a power of arrest in certain circumstances:
(1)
A court granting an injunction under section 1 may attach a power of arrest to a prohibition or requirement of the injunction if the court thinks that—
(a)
the anti-social behaviour in which the respondent has engaged or threatens to engage consists of or includes the use or threatened use of violence against other persons, or
(b)
there is a significant risk of harm to other persons from the respondent.
‘Requirement’ here does not include one that has the effect of requiring the respondent to participate in particular activities.
(2)
If the court attaches a power of arrest, the injunction may specify a period for which the power is to have effect which is shorter than that of the prohibition or requirement to which it relates.
Power of Arrest
A power of arrest attached to an injunction allows a police officer to arrest the respondent without a warrant if the respondent breached a condition in the injunction, that is, a prohibition or a requirement (s. 9). Where no power of arrest is attached to the injunction, the applicant may apply to the court to issue a warrant of arrest of a respondent if the applicant thinks that the respondent has breached the injunction (s. 10). Section 11 and sch. 1 make provision for the remand, whether on bail or in custody, of a person arrested for breach of an injunction.
Breaching an Injunction
A respondent who breaches the terms of a civil injunction does not commit a criminal offence.
Breach of an injunction by an adult will be contempt of court, punishable in the usual way by the county court by a term of imprisonment of up to two years or an unlimited fine.
Someone aged under 18 breaching an injunction could result in the youth court imposing a supervision order or a detention order (sch. 2 to the Act).
Special Measures
Section 16 enables the court to give a special measures direction to protect vulnerable or intimidated witnesses in injunction proceedings. Such measures may include giving evidence behind a screen or by video link or in private.
