Dear Cambridge City Council,

Request Under the FOI Act 2000

I am writing to request the release of protocols agreed between

Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire police governing the use

of dispersal powers under Section 30 of the Antisocial Behavior Act

2003. I would like a copy of the protocol which applies to the

current order which came into effect on the 3rd of January 2010 as

well as the protocol which applied to the order which came into

effect on the 3rd of January 2007.

I would suggest these protocols ought accompany the information on

the orders which the council has committed to make available on its

website. If the council has already posted information on the

dispersal zone orders on its website (other than in committee

papers) I would like to request a link to those pages.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 Part 4 Dispersal: Dealing with Intimidating Groups (sections 30-36). Part 4 of the Act creates a power for a senior Police Officer to authorise an area, with local authority agreement, where there is persistent anti-social behaviour and a problem with groups causing intimidation. The commencement date for the implementation of this part of the Act was 20^th January 2004 and a code of practice for s.30 (s.34) was expected to follow from central government but, to date, we are unaware of its existence.

You have asked for copies of the protocols that were in place for the s.30 Dispersal Orders issued in 2007 and again in 2010. If by this you mean one document covering the roles of the Police and the City Council in respect of s. 30, such a document does not exist in the form you may be expecting. Instead, the Police and the City Council have agreed operational guidance over the use of s. 30 powers details of which I have set out below. I also feel it may be of assistance to you if I explain the arrangements in place in 2004 when the first Order was agreed. These arrangements were repeated for the implementation of Orders, subsequently.

When the Section 30 Dispersal Order was first introduced in Cambridge City in April 2004 the Police and the City Council followed the guidance as laid out in the legislation, which is explicit in terms of what is required of the police and the local authority in making such an Order. It was agreed between the two organisations that the documentation required to evidence the need for an Order would be provided in a detailed police report that would be shared with the City Council.

At the time operational guidance was also agreed between the two organisations. This was done in consultation with Ward Councillors. Agreement was reached that the Order would, amongst other things, be explicit over the boundary of the area it covered, notices would be would be placed in various locations within the designated area and training would be provided to police personnel. Allowance within the area would be made for individuals to access essential services (relevant particularly to members of the street-life community), orders to leave would only cover the period of time when the officer issuing the order was on duty, young people involved in anti-social behaviour could be dispersed, however, subsection 6 of the Order which relates to returning those young people (under 16) found engaging in ASB and unaccompanied by an adult to their home, would not be used. Young persons found to be involved in persistent ASB would be referred to the ASB Problem Solving Group. The use of s.30 powers would be logged by the police and council officers would have access to the log.

At the time the `Authorisation' to use Police powers was made in 2004 a press release was sent out by the City Council stating that the new powers were in response to “ reports of residents and shopkeepers being harassed by groups of people under the influence of alcohol, particularly in the Mill Road area”. The press release also mentioned consultation undertaken with young people in February 2004 in which they highlighted their concerns over the use of these powers in relation to young people seen `hanging around' in the area. The Leader of the Council stated that he had received reassurance from the police that s.30 would not be used in this type of situation.

At the same time as issuing the press release the Council's Chief Executive wrote to all the residents and traders in the area stating that the Police would use these powers under a code of guidance agreed with the City Council. This code of guidance was finalised in March 2005 and entitled ` Guidance Notes for Sectors and Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinators.' The guidance document is considered by the Police to be restricted and not for public consumption in its current format. This is a matter that the Council must respect.

The 'Authorisation' to use police powers under the Act is set out in a document 'Authorisation of Police Powers' and signed by the authorising officer of superintending rank and the appropriate City Council officer authorising on behalf of the local authority. In respect of the latter, delegated power to sign an Order rests with the Leader of the Council with the decision of the Leader being subsequently scrutinised by the Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee. The documents and the process have been used each time there has been consideration of an Order in the City and are still in use today.

The requirement to consider implementing an Order will always come about as a result of behaviour reported by the public that is troublesome to the community and which cannot be managed effectively by the use of other powers. Whilst there is no legal requirement to consult with members of the public, in practice that happens by virtue of them reporting the behaviour in the first place and the police responding to their calls.

You have asked for the link to the Council's website which is:

http://cambridge.gov.uk/ccm/content/community-and-living/community-safety/policing-and-safer-neighbourhoods.en .

The Police Intelligence Report and maps can be found on the Police website:

http://www.cambs.police.uk/about/planspoliciesreports/reports/cambcity_sec30DispersalOrder_200912.pdf

The Police Intelligence Report can also be found from a link from the Council's website.

Also attached to the e-mail are scanned copies of the signed Authorisations