The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014: implications for sex workers and their clients

Abstract

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced new powers to deal with behaviour deemed to be "anti-social". In this paper we consider how the new law could be used against sex workers and their clients and the impact this may have. Although the new powers were not intentionally designed to respond to prostitution, we suggest that they will be utilised to tackle it. We argue that the law will be used inconsistently in a way which will go directly against policy which seeks to 'tackle demand' and take a less punitive approach to dealing with sex workers. Despite a policy shift to see sex workers more as victims and less as offenders, we draw on existing evidence to demonstrate that the new ASBO law will be utilised to exclude street sex workers from public spaces. We claim that a degree of 'policy re-fraction' will occur when the new laws are implemented by practitioners.

On the edges of the law: sex workers’ legal consciousness in England

“…In addition, street-based sex workers are controlled not only by the criminal law, but also by orders intended to target anti-social behaviour and public nuisance (Sagar, 2007; 2009). Civil orders give the police the power to criminalise street-based sex work beyond the intentions of the law (Kingston and Thomas, 2015). The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 established a series of new civil orders that were not intentionally designed to tackle street-based sex work (Kingston and Thomas, 2015).…”

“…Civil orders give the police the power to criminalise street-based sex work beyond the intentions of the law (Kingston and Thomas, 2015). The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 established a series of new civil orders that were not intentionally designed to tackle street-based sex work (Kingston and Thomas, 2015). However, interviews with police officers in London conducted for this study found that, in certain boroughs of London, these civil orders are regularly used against sex workers.…”

‘Cost’ calculations as a barrier to gaining information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 from the police in England and Wales

“…ASBOs were repealed and replaced by Injunctions through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 Part 1, and came into effect incrementally in 2015. Kingston and Thomas (2017) argue that the new powers contained within the Act will be used to deal with street sex workers.…”

Private Policing and Public Health: A Neglected Relationship

“…Arguably, public health researchers have focused on this question more than criminologists and policing scholars because policing practices are known to be “iatrogenic”—that is, increasing the health risks of structurally vulnerable populations (Anderson & Burris, 2017; Bohnert et al, 2011). For instance, studies have illuminated the ways in which public police officers adversely shape the health risk environments of sex workers through activities that are stigmatizing, coercive, exclusionary, and generally unprotective of their health (Kingston & Thomas, 2017; Klambauer, 2018; Platt et al, 2018). A similar consequence has manifested during targeted public police crackdowns of urban drug markets.…”