Crime and Policing Act 2026: Respect orders

Following Government commitments to tackle several high-profile areas of crime, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces new offences and civil orders, seeks to untangle practical difficulties in securing certain orders, and extends application powers to other entities and authorities.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 (CPA 2026) received royal assent on 29 April 2026 and introduced over 70 legislative changes addressing antisocial behaviour (ASB), violence against women and girls (VAWG), child sexual exploitation (CSE), and several other areas.

The CPA 2026 is part of the Government’s response to a downgrading of community and neighbourhood policing, and its strategy to tackle VAWG and ASB and increase public trust in the police and criminal justice system.

This article, focusing on Respect Orders is the first in our series which outline the legal tests for new offences and orders.

Respect Orders

Description and Purpose

Respect Orders (ROs) are a civil sanction which mostly replace the antisocial behaviour injunction. The main purpose of ROs is to give “enforcement teeth” to the police (and courts) if an order is breached. As ROs are civil orders, not civil injunctions, a breach is a criminal offence for which an offender can be arrested, charged, and sentenced to a fine, community penalty, or custodial sentence.

Criteria

ROs can only be ordered against an adult. To obtain an RO the court must be satisfied that:

• On the balance of probabilities, a person has engaged, or threatens to engage, in ASB; and

• It is just and convenient to make the order for the purpose of preventing that person from engaging in ASB.

The meaning of “just and convenient” isn’t as clear as “necessary”, which is the usual applicable word used in the tests for other civil orders. Interpretation, at least initially, is likely to vary when ROs are applied for, so there may be some legal debate around this.

The definition of ASB is unchanged and remains “conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person”.

Pre-Application Procedure

Before applying for an RO, the applicant must carry out a risk assessment which identifies:

• The risk of any person being caused harassment, alarm, or distress by the target of the order’s conduct;

• Any vulnerabilities the target has;

• Any alternative means of preventing the target from engaging in ASB; and

• Any other relevant matters.

As well as needing to have regard to any Secretary of State guidance, completing RO risk assessments effectively is likely to require considerable multi-agency input to assess whether an RO would suitably resolve the ASB, and, if so, the most appropriate and likely effective prohibitions and requirements to include.

Application Content and Procedure

Applications for ROs can be made without notice to the target of the order to the High Court or County Court by “relevant authorities” as set out in CPA 2026. These include the police, local authorities, and housing providers. If made without notice, the court may adjourn the application and make an interim order, pending a final RO of which the target will need to be notified. Otherwise, the target (and any other appropriate persons) should be informed of the application before filing it.

ROs may contain prohibitions (preventing certain activities) and/or requirements (mandating activities). Prohibitions and requirements can specify differing effective periods, but an RO must state how long it is effective for (until a specified date or further order).

ROs may exclude a person from their home, but only if:

• The application is made by a local authority, chief officer of police for that area, or owning/managing housing provider;

• The relevant ASB includes actual or threatened use of violence against others; and

• There is significant risk of harm to people other than the target of the order.

ROs can be varied or discharged upon application by the RO applicant, or the target. Variations can include additional prohibitions, requirements or extensions. If a variation or discharge application is dismissed, the applicant may not make any further variation or discharge application without the court’s or other party’s consent.

Practicalities

Where ROs have requirements, they must specify an individual or organisational supervisor responsible for overseeing compliance with the requirement. Requirements must be evidenced for suitability and enforceability by the supervisor and if there are multiple requirements, these must be compatible with each other. Requirements for participation must be declared as “activity requirements” and specified as such in the RO.

Supervisors are responsible for making any assigned arrangements for the requirements, promoting compliance, and informing the applicant (and chief officer of police, if different) if the affected person has complied with all relevant requirements. If a supervisor considers the has been a failure to comply, and:

• The requirement is an activity requirement;

• There has been failure to comply without reasonable excuse; and

• The target of the RO has not been given a warning for non-compliance with that requirement in the preceding 12 months;

the supervisor must issue a written warning. In all other cases of non-compliance without reasonable excuse, the supervisor must inform the applicant (and chief officer of police, if different).

Those subject to subject to RO requirements have an obligation to keep in touch with their supervisor and notify them of any change of address.

Breach

Breaching either a prohibition or requirement is a criminal offence and an offender may be fined or imprisoned for up to 2 years (or both); the court is not entitled to order conditional discharge.

Commencement

RO legislation will be effective once the Secretary of State makes further regulations. ROs may be run as a pilot scheme initially, but at the time of writing full details have not been made available to the public.

For further information and advice on respect orders, please contact a member of the Regulatory Police Team.

Look out for the next article in this series on Stalking Protection Orders and the amendments under the CPA 2026.