Community protection notices

Community protection notices (CPNs) are designed to stop a person aged 16 or over, business or organisation committing antisocial behaviour (ASB) which spoils the community's quality of life.

This can include offences such as noise nuisance, eyesore rubbish on private land and antisocial behaviour.

A CPN can be issued by council officers, police officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) or social landlords, if designated by the council.

Grounds for issuing a CPN include instances in which an individual's behaviour:

• has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality
• is unreasonable and
• is of a persistent nature.

Before a CPN can be issued, the person, business or organisation suspected of causing the problem must be given a written warning stating that a community protection notice will be issued unless their conduct changes and ceases to have a detrimental effect on the community. The warning must also detail that a breach of a CPN is a criminal offence.

Failure to comply with the warning can lead to the issue of a community protection notice.

The notice will list the following requirements:

• to stop doing something specified and/or to do some specified action
• to take reasonable steps to achieve a specified result - this will be aimed at either preventing the effect of the unacceptable conduct continuing, or preventing the likelihood of it recurring.

If a recipient of a CPN fails to comply with the requirements, the council may take action to ensure that the failure is remedied.

Failure to comply with a CPN can lead to a court summons and, on conviction, can result in a fine of up to Level 4, currently £2,500 for individuals, or £20,000 for businesses.

A fixed penalty notice may also be issued for this behaviour (maximum £100 fine). Croydon has currently set the amount at £80.

Any items used in the commission of an offence may be seized under a warrant and may, upon conviction, be ordered to be destroyed.

An appeal against a CPN or its terms can be made to a magistrates' court within 21 days of issue.

CPNs were introduced by the ASB, Crime & Policing Act 2014, and launched on 20 October 2014.