Public Nuisance Offences

What are Public Nuisance Offences?

Public Nuisance Offences are offences committed - normally by minors - that cause a disturbance of the peace, damage to private or public property and deemed to represent anti-social behaviour. Such offences are often committed by groups of children who are to be found loitering in and around housing estates and areas where there is little in the way of recreational stimulation.

Public Nuisance Offences - as we have already mentioned - normally involve damage to property and physical or emotional aggravation caused by a number of children who have gathered together at a specific locale. Here are some of the offences that constitute Public Nuisance Offences:

• Playing loud music
• Playing ball games late at night
• Graffiti
• Vandalism
• Damage to motor vehicles
• Racial abuse
• Verbal Abuse
• Trespass
• Bullying of other children

Again this is not an exhaustive list but it is a list built upon the most common reasons as to why the police are called to deal with children in groups who are deemed as carrying out Public Nuisance Offences or acts of anti-social behaviour.

Dispersal Orders

In the event that such offences are regularly taking place within a specific area the police can - in conjunction with local council - issue what is known as a dispersal order. This order basically acts as a curfew and as such the police whilst patrolling the area in question can stop and question any individual thought to be of a particular age group without probable cause.

Dispersal orders also offer the police the right to question the individual as to where they have been, what they have been doing, and who they have been with. Failure to answer these questions satisfactorily can result in either the police removing the individual from the area and detaining them in a holding cell whilst attempts are made to contact their parents.

Likewise if an offence has been reported in that area and the individual is suspected as being one of those involved he or she may be detained until an appropriate adult can be contacted.

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts

If a minor has been detained or indeed found to have been responsible for the committing of a Public Nuisance Offence they can be offered the opportunity of voluntarily agreeing to an Acceptable Behaviour Contract. This contract is signed by both the individual in question and their parents and an agreement is entered into by these parties and the police and Youth Offending Team.

This Acceptable Behaviour Contract may include details of a curfew or exclusion request which - if agreed to - means that the individual involved cannot be in a particular place past a designated time or simply cannot be in that area at all.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

ASBOs as they are now more commonly known are issued by a magistrate if an offence is brought before them. If the individual responsible is not of an age where they can be sentenced to a custodial sentence then the magistrate may issue an ASBO which will detail a list of things they must not do for the duration of the order.

ASBOs - just like Acceptable Behaviour Contracts - may detail areas to stay away from and curfew times as well as ordering the individual involved to pay damages and/or undergo a period of counselling or rehabilitation.

However unlike an Acceptable Behaviour Contract, an ASBO is a legally binding order issued by the courts and not an informal agreement between offender, parent and the police. As such breaching the conditions of an ASBO may result in further criminal proceedings and/or sentencing to a Young Offenders Institution if the magistrate concludes that the offender will repeatedly offend.