Correct on the date of publication - 25 March 2024
Question:
Where persons are dispersed under section 35 of the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 as they are likely to commit crime in the area, what power is there to obtain name and address to put on the section 35 dispersal?
Would failure to provide details class as non-compliance and therefore result in ability to arrest?
Answer:
Section 35 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 gives a constable in uniform the power to exclude a person from an area for a period of up to 48 hours, providing that authorisation has been granted under section 34 of the Act and, conditions in section 35 have been met.
Although section 38 of the same Act requires a constable to record the individual to whom a direction has been given, there is no power under Part 3 of the Act (containing the powers above) that allows officers to require persons to prove their identity.
Section 39 of the Act creates offences in relation to dispersal directions issued under section 35 and offences will be committed where an individual fails to leave a locality or, returns to a locality within a period specified in a direction. As you can see, the offence will not be committed by an individual who has failed to prove their identity, as this falls outside the remit of the offence. Therefore, there appears to be a lacuna in the law, unless anti-social behaviour has been committed in which case section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 applies.
