Sheriffs and outlaws: In pursuit of effective enforcement

Conundrums in Conservation: Complexity in Control

“…Regulatory strategies for planning control are often considered under the banners of formal and informal techniques [5,27,33], which Ayres and Braithwaite [34] capture, in a sanctions pyramid, where actions range from informal techniques such as education, negotiation and persuasion to the more formal techniques of warnings, and eventually, at the apex, prosecution. Ayres and Braithwaite's [34] responsive approach to regulation and enforcement involves the adoption of a flexible set of enforcement reactions where plausible and strong sanctions are generally held in reserve for the most serious of cases.…”

“…England and NI has been a recurring issue and according to research findings by Prior [3] and McKay [5] a lack of manpower has time and time again been blamed for the ineffectiveness of the enforcement process. Whilst dedicated enforcement teams have been in local authorities for some time, this is in contrast to the Department where this is a more recent phenomenon.…”

“…Whilst dedicated enforcement teams have been in local authorities for some time, this is in contrast to the Department where this is a more recent phenomenon. Indeed, McKay [5] found that almost all participants were employed mainly in development control (management) and there were no separate enforcement teams. In NI, there has since been a paradigm shift and there are now distinct enforcement teams in each DPO and in Planning Headquarters.…”

“…The legitimacy of the planning system is dependent upon the efficacious implementation of the planning trinity, which comprises forward planning, development management, and enforcement [1]. In this context, enforcement has been repeatedly criticised as being the weakest link in the planning process [2][3][4][5]. Specifically, there is a dearth in appreciation of the serious problems which pervade the regulatory planning system.…”

Pitfalls in Protection: How Theory Can Enrich Our Understanding of Regulatory Compliance Problems in Planning Practice

“…Since its inception, the planning system has been repeatedly criticized for an inability to deal with breaches of control (Carnwath 1989;Prior 2000), largely manifested in accusations of failing in its role to adequately protect the environment (McKay 2003(McKay , 2007. In this context, planning research has been censured for concentrating mainly upon legislative and policy frameworks, thereby devoting attention exclusively to mechanistic approaches (Rush et al 2012).…”