Courts to be able to hand down 'Serious Disruption Prevention Orders' from today

Courts can from today (5 April) impose orders to prevent individuals from causing repeated serious disruption.

The new court orders, named Serious Disruption Prevention Orders, allow courts to place requirements or prohibitions on anyone aged 18 or over which they consider necessary and proportionate to prevent them from causing serious disruption.

SDPOs can impose a range of restraints on an individual, including preventing them from being in a particular place or area, participating in disruptive activities and being with protest groups at given times.

They can also stop individuals from using the internet to encourage protest-related offences. 

The orders can be imposed on those who have, on at least two occasions, committed protest-related offences, such as locking on or breaching the conditions of an injunction.

The specific restrictions contained within each order will be decided by the court and can last up to 2 years. They can also be renewed if the person remains a threat.

The orders have been introduced as part of the Public Order Act 2023. They can be applied on conviction, or on application by the police.

Breaching an order will be a criminal offence and will carry a maximum penalty of 6 months in prison and/or an unlimited fine.

The Government said the powers are part of a raft of measures aimed at preventing criminality at protests.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "The public has a democratic right to protest and this Government will always uphold that. 

"However, recent months have shown certain individuals are just dedicated to wreaking havoc and causing severe disruption to the everyday lives of the public."

He added: "This is why we have introduced these new powers to ensure that anyone who ignores warnings from our law enforcement cannot continue to cause turmoil unpunished."

Adam Carey