What are Community Protection Notices?

Community Protection Notices can be issued on the spot, if a council or police officer believes that a person’s behaviour is having a ‘detrimental effect’ on the quality of life in the locality. The CPN must be proceeded by a Community Protection Warning, which is issued on the same conditions.

This power is often issued without basic due process being followed, such as carrying out an investigation or gathering evidence, hearing both sides of a case, or telling the recipient the evidence against them. The power is therefore extremely open to abuse or misuse.

With a power so lacking in pre-issue protocol, the rights of appeal are absolutely vital. It is through appeal that the case for the notice can be subjected to scrutiny, the issuing authority has to present its evidence, and the recipient has a right to give their side of the story and to contest the evidence. However, unfortunately the CPN appeal process is extremely weak, such that it performs little role in checking the power.

How many CPNs are appealed?

Our Freedom of Information requests to the Ministry of Justice found that a very small fraction of CPNs are appealed. 2023 was the record year for CPN appeals, when 126 appeals were submitted. This corresponds to 6133 council CPNs in the year up to October 2023, and a documented 2487 police CPNs (these latter figures are under-counted, due to poor police recording).

Data exists for the numbers of police and council CPNs, and the total number of CPN appeals. Although these use slightly different timeframes, and police CPNs are not available for years prior to 2017-18, the data gives an indication of the general number of appeals and the trend over time.

YEAR	COUNCIL CPNS (nov-oct) (*)	POLICE CPNS (apr-mar) (**)	TOTAL CPNS	CPN APPEALS (jan-dec) (***)	% APPEAL
2014-15	3943	NA	–	23	0.58
2015-16	4376	NA	–	26	0.59
2016-17	5730	NA	–	39	0.68
2017-18	6234	1019	7253	56	0.77
2018-19	8760	1591	10,351	95	0.92
2019-20	7437	1877	9,314	79	0.84
2020-21	5170	2886	8,056	103	1.28
2021-2022	6161	2842	9,003	105	1.16
2022-2023	6133	2487	8,620	126	1.46
TOTAL	54,944	12,707	66,646	526	0.79

The number of appeals has climbed steadily since the introduction of the power in October 2014. Although 2023 was a record high for CPN appeals, it is a very small percentage of issued CPNs. One lawyer, who has appealed dozens of CPNs, said that in her view ‘CPNs are on the whole not being used correctly’ and that ‘9 out of 10 CPNs could be overturned or varied with a proper legal defence‘.

In 2023, the Manifesto Club was contacted by around 20 people carrying out CPN appeals, which provides us with an insight into the appeal process experience.

What are the problems with CPN appeals?

• Lack of legal advice or guidelines on appeal procedure.

Most people who contacted us requested information on how to appeal their CPN; they had not been provided with a clear description of how to do so, and the issuing authority often seemed unable to answer their questions. (Most CPNs merely say that the order ‘can be appealled in a Magistrate’s court’, without stating which Magistrate’s, or what must be done in order to submit an appeal).

In one case, a woman issued with a CPN for bird feeding was passed ‘from pillar to post’ in the council, because no one seemed to know the correct appeal procedure; she submitted the appeal on time, but a few minutes before the deadline the court sent her an email saying that they needed the CPN to accept the appeal. She replied but it was just after the deadline. When she turned up at what she thought was the appeal hearing, the judge announced that it was a case for her prosecution for CPN breach. In another case, a pensioner issued with a CPN for knotweed repeatedly registered her CPN appeal in a local Magistrate’s court, but she didn’t receive any further documentation, and it turns out that she had been applying to the wrong court.

• Lack of legal representation.

Whereas Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) allowed for legal aid to appeal the order, there is no ordinary right to legal aid for CPN appeals. This means that people must either represent themselves, or pay a lawyer to represent them.

We are aware of several members of the public who successfully challenged CPNs while representing themselves. A dyslexic man in the north of England represented himself against a London barrister contracted by the council; even before the case had gone to trial, the council had spent over £7000 in legal costs. This is clearly not an equal contest. The gentleman prevailed and won the case, but the effort was the equivalent to a part-time job for a year, and the source of significant stress and anxiety, and he did not receive any compensation or costs.

In another case, a pensioner from Great Yarmouth successfully appealed a CPN preventing him from feeding birds in his garden. Although the appeal was ultimately successful, it was an immense amount of work and stress, and took a severe toll on the man’s physical and mental health.

We are frequently contacted by members of the public to ask for advice on a lawyer, because they could not find a lawyer with interest or ability to carry out a CPN appeal. Charges for appeals can be very high indeed. One woman spend over £10,000 trying to fight an unreasonable CPN, and in several instances she was poorly advised. Another lady recently told us that she was given a quote of £20k plus VAT from a legal firm to appeal her police CPW.

• Liability for council costs

A major disincentive to appealing is the liability for council costs if the appeal is unsuccessful. The risk of significant financial losses puts many people off appealing a CPN. We have encountered two cases where the appeal failed, and the council requested several thousand pounds in costs.

• Unclear legal process

When the appeal is underway, the lack of court experience of CPN appeals – and lack of procedural guidelines – can mean that the trial is an erratic and confusing process, which can be difficult to navigate even for those with legal training. One former partner in a city law firm, who advised a CPN recipient on the conduct of his case, gave his view on the appeal process:

If you receive a CPN and want to appeal, you will find absolutely no guidance anywhere on the magistrate’s court procedure, nor will you receive any from the court. My experience is that the magistrate’s court will lose your appeal form, lose your application for directions and then fail to put their directions in writing. The procedure at the main hearing therefore remains a mystery, as does the evidence the police will seek to rely on. If you want to seek more directions you will just extend the time you remain subject to the CPN restrictions pending hearing of your appeal. It’s a complete shambles.

Conclusion

The CPN appeal is essential for limiting the misuse of this power. We welcome the modest increase in appeals, and the success of some members of the public in carrying out successful appeals.

However, there are vital problems with the appeal process, and these both limit the number of people appealing and also limit their chances of success.

It is our view that the majority of issued CPNs would be withdrawn if the person was provided with competent legal representation and a thorough legal process. It is often the case that, once a person initiates an appeal, or shows that they have representation, then the CPN withdrawn (this was the case with a road safety campaigner banned from filming in Ealing). The CPN was issued on the presumption that it would not be contested, and the issuing authority has little interest in proving a case or revealing their evidence. This means that tens of thousands of people are currently subject to restrictions that would not stand up in court.

We call for the urgent review of the CPN appeal process, and the correction of the major faults outlined above. This should include:

• providing CPN recipients with a detailed description of how to appeal;
• providing legal aid for appeals;
• exempting appelants from cost claims if they lose the appeal;
• creating guidance on the conduct of CPN appeal trials.