CDA22016 Compassionate Criminalisation? Safeguarding and the Strategic Use of Public Orders
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Law
Abstract
Homeless people with mental health issues often fall through the cracks in terms of local authority social work interventions. While the Care Act 2014 provides mechanisms for investigations of 'adults at risk of harm', including self-neglect, many of these require the individuals consent where they have capacity to give it. This project investigates the use of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) in relation to the homeless population experiencing mental ill health, focussing on whether these orders are being uses strategically as a way to mitigate the impact of cuts to services and to secure support for this population group.
Key research questions to be addressed:
On what grounds and motivations are PSPOs being used, and how?
What is meant by 'protection' in the context of such extreme vulnerability?
Can 'compassionate criminalisation' even be in the best interests of the individual?
Whether pragmatic approaches to social problems are justifiable?
What is the regulatory potential of civil/criminal procedural hybrids?
Can the flexible regulatory approach offered by such hybrids can allow for more nuanced interventions?
Key research questions to be addressed:
On what grounds and motivations are PSPOs being used, and how?
What is meant by 'protection' in the context of such extreme vulnerability?
Can 'compassionate criminalisation' even be in the best interests of the individual?
Whether pragmatic approaches to social problems are justifiable?
What is the regulatory potential of civil/criminal procedural hybrids?
Can the flexible regulatory approach offered by such hybrids can allow for more nuanced interventions?
