Using Public Spaces Protection Orders to put the brakes on car cruising

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) are used by local authorities in England and Wales to prohibit and/or require specific behaviours in geographically restricted areas. These provisions, introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, are a civil behavioural control order that is criminal upon breach, with sanctions ranging from a £100 fixed penalty notice to a fine of £1,000 on conviction. PSPOs can restrict any behaviour, and local authorities are using this power in creative ways to tackle a variety of local issues ranging from swearing in the street to rough sleeping. Increasingly, PSPOs are being used to address ‘car cruising’ which includes behaviours such as street racing, revving engines, performing stunts, playing loud music and participating in vehicle convoys. For the first time, this paper captures the use of PSPOs to tackle car cruising in England and Wales. We quantify the number of PSPOs enacted and consider how car cruising has been conceptualised in an anti-social behaviour context, before examining how these PSPOs have been publicised, enforced and renewed. We also map the locations of car cruising PSPOs across England and Wales to visually represent where this power is being used in practice.