Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place to verify addresses given by recipients of penalty notices for disorder.

Mr. Straw
The Government issue operational guidance on the issuing of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) to police forces under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. This guidance sets out the criteria which should be considered by police officers before issuing PNDs and includes a section on identification, making it clear that a PND may be issued only where sufficient evidence of place of residence exists. The guidance says:

“Accurate identification of suspects and their place of residence are…critical to the effectiveness of the [PND] scheme...address checks must be rigorous” (emphasis in original).