Anti-Social Behaviour In Injunctions

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that anti-social behaviour pre-dating the introduction of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 on 23 March 2015 can be taken into account by a Court considering the evidence for an injunction.

The Act sets out at Section 1 the two conditions to be met when applying for an injunction and provides that “In deciding whether to grant an injunction under section 1 a court may take account of conduct occurring up to six months before the commencement day.”
In Birmingham City Council v Glenn Pardoe, decided on 5 December 2016, the Court confirmed that judges can take account of behaviour that pre-dates the Act when considering whether anti-social behaviour within the meaning of the Act has been proven and whether an injunction should be granted.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the trial judge that the Act was not intended to prohibit Courts from considering behaviour that occurred before 23 September 2014 (6 months before the Act came into force) and that such consideration might be important in establishing the basis for the injunction itself if it was being used to prove identity or to rebut the suggestion of an error.