Comparing policing practices associated with civil preventive orders and notices used in England and Wales

• In Event: POL Panel 4. Stop and Search and police powers

Abstract

The civil preventive order and notice framework within England and Wales addresses a range of sub-criminal and criminal behaviour. These powers enable the regulation of conduct immune from traditional criminal law by imposing requirements on a recipient, including the prohibition of neutral or preparatory acts, which, if breached, the recipient would commit a criminal offence with a possible imprisonment term attached. Hence, policymakers have been keen to introduce these powers for wicked policy problems despite no robust evaluation of their usage, effectiveness, and legal and moral limits. The following mixed methods study subsequently examines the policing practices and established procedural safeguards associated with these powers for sub-criminal (Anti-Social Behaviour) and criminal behaviour (Violence Against Women and Girls). This mixed methods study draws on ethnographic fieldwork, consisting of ride-along observations and semi-structured interviews with frontline police officers, alongside secondary data from police statistics and force policies. The qualitative data from coded field notes, interview transcripts and guidance documents are analysed using thematic analysis and the NVivo analytical software package. Whereas the quantitative data from force statistics are analysed using statistical techniques and SPSS. Significant concerns emerge from the initial findings, including duplication between the powers, problems experienced with the courts, a general lack of training for practitioners, and the inability to enforce specific requirements due to limitations in the police force's capabilities. The findings support the creation of a new 'preventive street-level bureaucrat within the risk society' theoretical framework. This framework will enable an exploration of policy and practice regarding compliance with human rights and the ideals of justice, the universally recognised common values shared by the public and democratic society. The findings also facilitate the work of Home Office working groups, with an overview provided within policy briefing papers and presentations, alongside the degree provisions at Sheffield Hallam University.

Author

• Zoe Rodgers, Sheffield Hallam University