Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

A comprehensive Act that reformed the tools available to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), replacing six previous orders (ASBOs, ASBIs, etc.) with simpler, more flexible civil orders. It also introduced the forced marriage offence, made changes to firearms licensing, and amended immigration law. The civil injunction (Part 1) and community protection notice (Part 4) are widely used by police and councils.

Key Provisions

• Part 1: civil injunction to prevent anti-social behaviour
• Part 2: criminal behaviour order (on conviction)
• Part 3: dispersal power (sections 34 to 36)
• Part 4: community protection notice
• Part 5: public spaces protection order
• Part 4, Chapter 3: closure of premises associated with nuisance or disorder
• Section 120: forced marriage offence
• Section 176: changes to firearms licensing

Relevance to Policing

Key reference for anti-social behaviour enforcement tools, the dispersal power, closure orders, and the forced marriage offence.

Updated 16 October 2026: from 26 October 2026 the Part 1 civil injunction is confined to persons under 18 (youth injunction), a housing injunction and a respect order (new Part A1, for adults) are added, the dispersal exclusion period in s.35 rises from 48 to 72 hours, closure notice periods in s.77 rise from 24 to 48 hours and from 48 to 72 hours, the s.52 community protection notice fixed penalty rises from £100 to £500, and registered social housing providers may issue closure notices for premises they own or manage (Crime and Policing Act 2026, ss.1 to 6 and Schedules 1 to 3, commenced by SI 2026/960, reg 4).