Understanding how Community Protection Notices are used to manage anti-social behaviour attributed to people experiencing street homelessness

Community Protection Notices (CPNs) were introduced in England and Wales by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014) to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) which ‘spoils the community’s quality of life’. The notices can prevent and/or require specific actions by the recipient where the behaviour in question has a ‘detrimental impact on the quality of life of those in the locality’. Breach of the notice incurs a £100 fine through a Fixed Penalty Notice or a possible criminal conviction. CPNs are issued by individual officers without the need to go to court and a low evidential threshold is employed. Almost any behaviour can be sanctioned by a CPN and they are being used to challenge ASB attributed to people experiencing street homelessness by prohibiting behaviours such as begging, the creation of sleeping structures, and street drinking. This article draws on empirical evidence generated through a qualitative study conducted across four case study areas in England between 2019 and 2021. We use Lipsky’s (2010) work on street-level bureaucracy and Tyler’s (2006) theory of distributive fairness as lenses to explore how frontline practitioners use CPNs within a homelessness context. The findings demonstrate divergent uses of the notices, specifically in relation to the CPN issuing process, the incremental intervention approach, and enforcement for breach. This provides a unique insight into how ASB policy is being used to manage a vulnerable population and we offer three research-informed recommendations for policy and practice.