Failure to Comply with Direction to Leave Land (Section 61 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994)

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.61

Summary only
3 months' custody or a Level 4 fine

Definition

If the senior police officer present at the scene reasonably believes that two or more persons are trespassing on land and are present there with the common purpose of residing there for any period, that reasonable steps have been taken by or on behalf of the occupier to ask them to leave and (a) that any of those persons, in the case of persons trespassing on land in England and Wales, has caused damage, disruption or distress (see subsection (10)), or (b) in either case, that those persons have between them six or more vehicles on the land, he may direct those persons, or any of them, to leave the land and to remove any vehicles or other property they have with them on the land. (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.61(1)) If a person knowing that a direction under subsection (1) above has been given which applies to him (a) fails to leave the land as soon as reasonably practicable, or (b) having left again enters the land as a trespasser within the period of three months beginning with the day on which the direction was given, he commits an offence. (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.61(4))

Points to prove

A direction under s.61(1) has been given by the senior police officer present at the scene
the officer reasonably believing that two or more persons are trespassing on land with the common purpose of residing there for any period
that reasonable steps have been taken by or on behalf of the occupier to ask them to leave
and that any of those persons has caused damage, disruption or distress, or that those persons have between them six or more vehicles on the land
the accused, knowing that a direction has been given which applies to him
fails to leave the land as soon as reasonably practicable
or, having left, again enters the land as a trespasser within the period of three months beginning with the day on which the direction was given

Failure to Comply with Direction to Leave Land is an offence under s.61 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. If the senior police officer present at the scene reasonably believes that two or more persons are trespassing on land with the common purpose of residing there for any period, that reasonable steps have been taken by or on behalf of the occupier to ask them to leave, and either that any of them has caused damage, disruption or distress or that they have between them six or more vehicles on the land, he may direct them, or any of them, to leave the land and to remove any vehicles or other property they have with them (s.61(1)). "Damage" includes damage to the land, to property on the land not belonging to the trespassers and to the environment (including excessive noise, smells, litter or deposits of waste); "disruption" includes interference with a person's ability to access services or facilities on the land or otherwise make lawful use of it, or with a supply of water, energy or fuel; "distress" means distress caused by threatening, abusive or insulting words, behaviour or visible representations, or by disorderly behaviour (s.61(10)). A person who, knowing that a direction has been given which applies to him, fails to leave the land as soon as reasonably practicable, or having left again enters the land as a trespasser within the period of three months beginning with the day the direction was given, commits an offence (s.61(4)). It is a defence to show that he was not trespassing on the land, or that he had a reasonable excuse for failing to leave or for again entering (s.61(6)). Maximum sentence: on summary conviction, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or both (s.61(4)).

In practice

This is a summary-only offence: it must be tried at the magistrates' court. Police may charge without CPS authority for summary offences. Officers must ensure the conditions in s.61(1) are met before giving the direction. Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities are protected under the Equality Act 2010: officers must conduct an equalities impact assessment and consider welfare needs (including pregnant women, children, elderly, and those with disabilities). The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them.

Related offences

Aggravated Trespass (Section 68 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994)

Last updated 20 October 2026. Reviewed 20 October 2026

Mode of trial: Summary only
Maximum sentence: 3 months' custody or a Level 4 fine
Act and section: Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.61
Power of arrest: A constable may arrest without a warrant anyone who is about to commit the offence, anyone who is in the act of committing it, anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be about to commit it or to be committing it, and, where he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the offence has been committed, anyone whom he has reasonable grounds to suspect of being guilty of it, but only if he has reasonable grounds for believing that for any of the reasons in s.24(5) (including to enable the person's name or address to be ascertained, to prevent the person causing loss of or damage to property, to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of the conduct of the person, and to prevent any prosecution for the offence from being hindered by the disappearance of the person) it is necessary to arrest the person (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.24(1) to (5)).
Search on arrest: If a direction has been given under s.61 and a constable reasonably suspects that any person to whom the direction applies has, without reasonable excuse, failed to remove any vehicle on the land which appears to the constable to belong to him or to be in his possession or under his control, or entered the land as a trespasser with a vehicle within the period of three months beginning with the day on which the direction was given, the constable may seize and remove that vehicle (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.62(1)). On arrest at a place other than a police station, a constable may search the arrested person if he has reasonable grounds for believing the person may present a danger to himself or others, and may search the arrested person for anything which he might use to assist him to escape from lawful custody or which might be evidence relating to an offence, where he has reasonable grounds for believing the person may have concealed such a thing on him (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.32(1), (2)(a) and (5)). The powers to enter and search premises after arrest in s.32(2)(b) and s.18(1) apply only where the person is under arrest for an indictable offence, and this is a summary offence (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.18(1) and s.32(2)(b)).
Detention clock: A person shall not be kept in police detention for more than 24 hours without being charged, calculated from the relevant time, which in the ordinary case is the time of arrival at the first police station to which the person is taken after arrest (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.41(1) and (2)(d)). The extensions in ss.42 to 44 do not apply: authorisation of continued detention by a superintendent and a warrant of further detention each require that an offence for which the person is under arrest is an indictable offence, and this is a summary offence (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.42(1)(b), s.43(4)(b) and s.44(1)).
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/33/section/61