Community Protection Notices / Dispersal orders / PSPO’s (1285A/23)
Request
CPNs:
- – The number of Community Protection Notices (CPNs) issued in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please provide any easily extractable data about the subject of these CPNs.
- – The number of charges or summonses for breaching a CPN. Please if possible provide a breakdown of all disposal outcomes for offences of breaching a CPN.
PSPOs:
- – The number of charges or summonses for the offence of breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please if possible provide a breakdown of all disposal outcomes for offences of breaching a PSPO. Please provide any easily extractable data about the PSPO offence and the ward area.
- – Please state whether your force is using dispersal powers issued by councils under PSPOs. If so, provide any data on the number of PSPO dispersal notices issued to individuals in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023.
5. – Please provide any existing records of incidents of alcohol confiscation under PSPOs in the period 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023.Dispersal orders:
6. – If possible, please state the number of dispersal zones declared in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please provide any data about the reasons for declaring these dispersal zones.
7. – Please state the number of orders to disperse issued to individuals in the period 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please provide any available data about the reasons for issuing these orders to disperse.
Internal/external evaluations of CPNs, PSPOs or dispersal notices:
- Has your force completed any internal or external evaluation of the use of CPNs, PSPOs or dispersal notices? If so, please provide a copy of any reports, evaluations, or minutes of meetings where these orders have been discussed.
Response
Our data are not organised in such a way as to allow us to provide this information within the appropriate (cost) limit within the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (see ‘Reason for Decision’ below).
Although excess cost removes the force’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill I have supplied information, relative to your request, retrieved before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded (see enclosed). I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of the request.
For information:
Community Protection Notices
CPN’S (Community Protection Notices) are notices that are issued by either the police or local councils. Usually, they are issued after a CPW (Community Protection Warning) and are aimed at stopping behaviour that is causing a nuisance to the public and having an impact on their daily lives. They are usually issued to cover areas that the law won’t cover, such as loud music coming from cars, houses or from people gathering in an alleyway near to residential houses smoking drugs, drinking etc. Warnings are issued first to the individuals, and are monitored. If the behaviour does not stop, then a CPN can be issued. This will normally carry a power of arrest (Police) or a summons to court (Local Police/local authority)
PSPOs:
Council will have the details for the PSPO data. The PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) is an order that the local authority can make at court to prohibit certain activities in a certain area. As the order is obtained by the Local Authority, the matter is usually left to them to monitor by way of EPO’S) Environmental Protection Officers) who will issue a Fixed Penalty Notice in the first instance
Dispersal orders:
The power is issued by an Inspector for a period of 48 hours if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that the behaviour of the person in the locality has contributed or will contribute to members of the public being harassed, alarmed or distressed, the occurrence of crime or disorder. This enables a Constable/PCSO to direct someone to leave the area for a period of time. This covers everyday policing issues (Information of a large fight, football matches etc)
Answers
CPNs:
Q1: The number of Community Protection Notices (CPNs) issued in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please provide any easily extractable data about the subject of these CPNs.
5
These are all linked to anti-social behaviour. Any further detail is exempt by virtue of S40 (2) personal information.
Q2: The number of charges or summonses for breaching a CPN. Please if possible provide a breakdown of all disposal outcomes for offences of breaching a CPN.
2
These breaches will have been referred to the Courts, and the Court imposes any sanctions. Our only disposal outcomes would be reported / charged to Court.
PSPOs:
Q3: The number of charges or summonses for the offence of breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please if possible provide a breakdown of all disposal outcomes for offences of breaching a PSPO. Please provide any easily extractable data about the PSPO offence and the ward area.
Q4: Please state whether your force is using dispersal powers issued by councils under PSPOs. If so, provide any data on the number of PSPO dispersal notices issued to individuals in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023.
Q5. Please provide any existing records of incidents of alcohol confiscation under PSPOs in the period 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023.
The local Council for the area will have the details for the PSPO data. West Midlands Police do not hold this information.
Dispersal orders:
Q6: If possible, please state the number of dispersal zones declared in the year 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please provide any data about the reasons for declaring these dispersal zones.
8 declared
- Sandwell NPU in its entirety.
- Greater West Bromwich area.
- West Bromwich along the edge of Handsworth.
- Sandwell, Brierley Hill and Smethwick
- West Bromwich Town Centre.
- Victoria Park in Smethwick.
- West Bromwich Town Centre.
- Tividale and surrounding streets.
The reasons for the declaration of these dispersal zones is not held in a retrievable format.
Q7: Please state the number of orders to disperse issued to individuals in the period 01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023. Please provide any available data about the reasons for issuing these orders to disperse.
30 people have been dispersed under the above power. There is no available data in regard to the reason for the dispersal of the individual, it will be a decision made at the scene by the Officer applying the law.
Internal/external evaluations of CPNs, PSPOs or dispersal notices:
- Has your force completed any internal or external evaluation of the use of CPNs, PSPOs or dispersal notices? If so, please provide a copy of any reports, evaluations, or minutes of meetings where these orders have been discussed.
Section 12 (cost) exemption applies, please see below
REASON FOR DECISION
Please note that researching the term “evaluation” and every report / minute would exceed the appropriate limit (FOIA, s.12).
CPN’s PSPO’s and dispersal orders are all individual scenarios and situations and as such each application may have been discussed in many different forums by many different people. This information is not centrally located and therefore cannot be retrieved in any accuracy.
The cost of compliance with the whole of your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond, i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12(1) of the FOI Act 2000. For West Midlands Police, the appropriate limit is set at £450, as prescribed by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, S.I. 3244.
Further information on section 12 of FOI is available here:
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