Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers a constable in uniform to require a person suspected of engaging in anti–social behaviour to provide their name and address. The underlying principle is to ensure that the police can issue warnings and notices to those whose behaviour is detrimental to public order and community well–being.
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is defined in law as conduct that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress to any person; behaviour capable of causing nuisance or annoyance in relation to someone’s home; or conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance. This definition is set out in section 2 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and forms the legal basis for many enforcement powers used to tackle ASB.
Failure to comply with a request under section 50 – or providing false or inaccurate details – constitutes an offence. However, Section 50 does not grant the police additional powers, such as the authority to search a person or demand that they hand over identification.
Copper Stopper contains a full breakdown of your rights if stopped on the street by the police, what you should say or do in the most common scenarios to avoid arrest and prosecution, and what action you can take against the police if you are stopped unlawfully or your rights are abused.
