You are in: Anti social road behaviour

The law
Under the Police Reform Act 2002, police have the power to seize motor vehicles that are being used in a manner likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public - which includes numerous offences from dangerous driving through to noise nuisance.

This power is intended to help curb the use of public roads around housing estates as illegal race tracks, or the riding of motorcycles across public parks, villages or greens. Section 59 gives the power to deal with these problems and Section 60 covers duties in respect of retention, keeping and disposal of seized vehicles.

These powers relate to uniformed police officers and may by way of designation be passed to a Police Community Support Officer, but not Accredited Community Safety Officers.
Grounds to exercise power
Where a police officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a mechanically propelled vehicle is, or has been:

* driven without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for others (contrary to Section 3 Road Traffic Act 1988),

OR
? driven onto, or upon, any common land, moorland or land of any other description, not forming part of a road, or on any road being a footpath or bridleway (contrary to Section 34 Road Traffic Act 1988),

AND
? there are reasonable grounds to believe the vehicle is being used, or has been used, in such a way to cause or likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public then the officer shall have the following powers:

Powers
? Order a person to stop the vehicle.
? Seize and remove the vehicle.
? For the purposes of exercising the power in either of the two cases above, enter any premises on which there are reasonable grounds to believe the vehicle to be.
? To use reasonable force, if necessary, in the exercise of these powers.

The power cannot be exercised unless the driver is both using the vehicle anti-socially and is committing either the Section 3 or Section 34 offence.

Section 59(6) makes it a specific offence to fail to stop when required to do so. Penalty on summary conviction is a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Seized vehicles
Seized vehicles are returned only upon payment of the appropriate fee (minimum fee is ?105). Vehicles not claimed within the allotted times may be disposed of and the cost of recovery is payable by the owner. If the owner is a child, parents are warned that they may be liable to pay the recovery costs, in addition to any prosecution.

If parents are named as the owners of a motorcycle, it can be classed as 'permitting an offence' if they allow it to be used illegally, and they can be prosecuted in addition to the rider.

Committing offences on these vehicles may result in hefty fines and penalty points being added to the offender's driving licence. If the offender does not have a licence, or is too young to drive, then a record will be created for them and points added to it in lieu of them gaining a licence at a later date - which will of course drastically increase the cost of motor insurance in future years.

Police can also pass on offenders' details to housing authorities regarding breach of tenancy agreements.

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