Power to the People! Public Spaces Protection Orders and the Devolution of the Preventive State

In the 2019 Reith Lectures, the former Supreme Court justice Lord Sumption described what he perceived as the law’s expanding empire into every corner of our lives. Whilst some of the law’s intervention is forced upon us, Lord Sumption argued that two of the reasons for its expansion are down to collective choices – the growing moral and social absolutism to produce conformity but also the constant quest for greater security and to reduce risk in our daily lives. This article examines one particular legal mechanism used in England and Wales which neatly exemplifies this expansion – Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) – introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing (ASBCP) Act 2014. As stated in the Act’s Explanatory Notes, PSPOs are “intended to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a particular area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life, by imposing conditions on the use of that area”.