The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing 2014 Act - Assignment Example

NEGOTIATION SKILLS By Student’s Name Code + Name of Course Professor University City/State Date Question 1: a) The ‘Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing 2014 ACT describes “anti-social behaviour as conduct that has instigated, or is likely to generate distress, harassment, or alarm to any person. The behaviour is one that can likely cause annoyance or nuisance in relation to that individual’s occupation of residential places. Provided with a Closure notice, Dylan is likely to be served with a Closure Order under Section 76 of ‘The Anti-Social Crime, Behaviour, and Policing Act of 2014’ (Crawford& Lister 2007, pg. 6). The notice suggests that only my client Dylan, being the current occupant of the property will be permitted access into his property.  Anybody else at the property will be committing a criminal offence.Police have already placed a closure notice following complains of distress and annoyance against Dylan. The policemen’s issuance of a Closure follows reports by his neighbours reports of disturbance and annoyance. The neighbours allege that this was rendering an adverse effect to them and to their children and as such causing concern to the community. Proof of substance abuseand antisocial behaviour or alcohol misuse by the occupant, being Dylan it could finally lead to the closure of his residence commonly denoted as the community protection order (Crawford 2008, pg. 754). This means that after the provision of the closure notice and subsequently the closure order. The provisions of Chapter 3 under Part 4 of the Closure Order will apply where Police will issue a notice where they reasonably believe that Dylan has causes a public nuisance or likely to cause disorder in the neighbourhood ofrelated to his premises. Under the situations Dylan has explained, it is possible for him to be issued with the Closure order in preventing the occurrence or continuation or reoccurrence of such behaviour or conduct. In the case of Dylan who apparently is has a family being his daughter Simone from his relationship with Helen, the Closure Notice can be created such that it exclude specific individuals or several individuals but not those residing at the household or who are routinely resident. There is a need for prior notification and consultation to Dylan (Legislation.gov.uk. 2015, pg. 19). Once provided by the court, the notice cannot restrict access by Dylan or his close family members (his daughter and Helen). Before Dylan is issued with the notice, the police will consult any appropriate agency or personality as well as make logical efforts to inform him section 76, (6) and (7)(Legislation.gov.uk. 2015, pg. 20). The police at this point will take into account other considerations that are considered as vulnerable e.g. the Community Psychiatric Nurse’s visit to Dylan’s premises to encourage him with about his alcohol and drug misuse. The service of the notice on pertinent people will be required of the police if there is need to do so under section 79(2). After the issue of the Closure Order, and during the period of adjournment, the court can opt to allow a closure notice in the short-term within the before hearing of the application in the next 10 days (section 81)(Crawford & Lister 2007, pg. 10). This could allow the person issued with the closure notice (in this case Dylan) time to show that the order should not have been made, without increasing the risk of anti-social behaviour to those in the immediate vicinity of the premises.Section 83 of the Act allows Dylan to or the police or neighbours who applied for the order to appeal a discharge at any period. This hearing for the discharge will take place in the magistrates’ court within ten days. My client Dylan believes that the closure order servedis incorrect. However, section 84 of the act allows him to appeal at the magistrate’s Court, within 21 days of the initial court order -section 84(5) (Squires2008, pg. 306). b) Dylan is likely to face several consequences if he fails to comply with the Closure Order. The authorizations will use powers under section 35 part. Under the provision, police officers may authorise the use powers provided by section 35 for the purposes of eliminating or removing the likelihood ofmembers of the public in the neighbourhood being harassed, distressed or alarmed. Dylan is likely to face have criminal charges under section 35 of ‘The Anti-Social Crime, Behaviour, and Policing Act 2014.’ Under the provision, any person provided with the directives and who fails without sensible excuse to comply with the section commits an offence. Such an individual will be regarded as guilty of the described offence under subsection (1) and as such will be liable on summary conviction. This suggests possible imprisonment for a period not more than 3 months or to a fine not more than level four on the standard gauge, or to both. An individual provided with a direction under section 37 and who fails without sensible reason to comply with it will be committing an offence(Squires 2008, pg. 310). A person found guilty of an offence under subsection 3 is liable on instant conviction to a fine not more than level two on the standard scale. Question 2: This research entailed visiting different online law directory to review statuses and case law related to the case. There are numerous online directories such as the Westlaw directory, which contains everything from the UK and the USas well as legal statutes from different countries not forgetting domestic law journals. Westlaw offer access to different databases comprising searching through domestic case law in the UK. Searching for articles for the essay was even easier for this assignment. I used Google scholar to research for information about ‘The Anti-Social Crime, Behaviour, and Policing Act 2014. Most information on Closure of premises linked with disorder or nuisance (Part 4, Chapter 3 was obtained from this website: . Question 3: Dylan is against the closure order as he is concerned that he will beisolated if his friends are restricted from visiting him. He is very depressed after losing his parents. Dylan expects to continue seeing a Community Psychiatric Nurse who visits occasionally to support him through his drug misuse and alcohol challenge. My clients does not intend to visit the nurse elsewhere as he takes anti-depressant medication and he is very anxious about going out during daytime because he will not manage. Dylan does not want to lose the companionship of his friend Brian who offers him a lot of support. In addition, the closure order may prevent Helen (his former girlfriend) and her daughter Simone from visiting Dylan on Saturdays. Dylan cannot manage to take her out because of his problems. Moreover, Dylan intends to undertake substantial electrical rewiring in his premises in a few days and this might take a few weeks to complete. Therefore, any Closure Order might prevent him from his goals. On the other hand, the other party’s being his neighbours are concerned that he goes for a ride very early in the morning. His problematic bike is extremely noisy and many neighbours have complained that this disturbs their sleep. Furthermore, complaints have been documentedabout the rock music, which Dylan and his friends love making. His colleagues enjoy doing this late in the evening very early in the morning. Neighbours from all sides want this annoyance stopped because they have complained to Dylan concerning this on many instances and he has apologised but it has never stopped. The neighbours appear to be concerned about the issue compelling them to call the police on several occasions and this has happened at least twice every month in the past six months. The neighbours have reported to the police about their concerns regarding the levels of noise from the music, the “smell of drugs” emanating from Dylan’s house, the disorder caused by loud singing and loud conversations in the street. The neighbours seem to be aiming to put an end to behaviours, which they consider as “inappropriate” for their children who face exposed to smoke from people smoking cannabis in Dylan’s house and his friends who often assemble outside the front of his apartment. Question 4: As my client’s lawyer, I must be satisfied that the necessities set out in sections 11A (1-8) of the ‘The Anti-Social Crime, Behaviour, and Policing Act 2014’Act have been complied with in tandem with the approval, issuing, service, and content of the closure notice. Reviewing violations pursuant to section 11D (1) on entering or remaining on the premises in infringement of a Part 1A notice of closure, or section 11D(2) will enable the obstruction of Dylan serving his imminent closure notice (Ashworth 2004, pg. 269). Working as Dylan’s solicitor, represents my duty to defend my client’s Closure Orders and to represent his interests in the premises, which are the topic of an application for a Closure Order. The cases demonstrated in this case necessitate the importance of maintaining a close working relationship with Dylan, the Police, local authorities or any other support agencies in order to improve ultimately the chance of avoiding the Closures orders being made. As Dylan’s solicitor, my client will need to provide comprehensive background information about the situation. This includes information about the police visit to the premises about two weeks ago with a search warrant in search for controlled drugs. The information needed is whether the search found any drugs. Dylan should provide information such as the distinct smell of cannabis in the house at the time of the search. Information, which should be withheld about the case is the fact Dylan’s friend Brian, had spewed aniseed essence around the house to conceal any drug detection dogs that would be brought by the police. Another piece of information to withhold is the fact that Dylan stated the fact that he had smoked his last cannabis only an hour before the arrival of police. Dylan has also made it clear that he was not arrestedafter the search. Question 5 Carrying out a SWOT analysis will reveal the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the issuance of Closure Order notice and the foundations for bargaining the matter with my client. Strengths The main strengths of this case are that Dylan has been issued with a copy of the Closure Notice, but the fact that the hearing of the application is to happen in the local Magistrates’ Court within ten days will allow room to make provisions for appeal (Smithson & Flint2006, pg. 22). Even though the police visited the premises in search for controlled drugs, they did not find any evidence of drugs use even though there was distinct smell of cannabis in Dylan’s house. These facts will assist in making appropriate methods and negotiation styles for the case. Weaknesses The fact that some of Dylan’s friend such asBrianwas arrestedfor drug related charges is a disadvantage. Dylan is also disadvantaged by the numerous complains recorded by his neighbours, which compelled the police to attended his premises after a party Dylan organized ran out of control spreading into the adjacent streets. Already some of his friends were arrested for disorganized conduct. Opportunities The major opportunity for Dylan in the case is the fact that he has only been issued with a closure notice pending hearing of his application. Under Part 3, Chapter 36 of the Act on Dispersal Powers, the police may not give a direction (under section 35), which restricts the individual to whom it is provided having access to his house (Carneiro 2013, pg. 790).Thus, a superintendent or constable may not provide a direction under section 35, which prevents Dylan from attending to his house for the purposes of his employment, or in contract services, which he needs such as his requirement to receive medical treatment or being visited by his family including former girlfriend and daughter. Threats There is possibility of Dylan being issued with a Closure Order if it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that he is guilty of engaging in antisocial behaviour. The result could mean that he will suffer some consequences if he fails to comply with the Closure Order(Crawford & Lister 2007, pg. 14). The provisions and powers under section 35 may authorize the magistrates to authorize officers to use these powers for the purposes of eliminating or removing the likelihood of members of the public in the neighbourhood being harassed, distressed or alarmed. The provisions under section 35 of ‘The Anti-Social Crime, Behaviour, and Policing Act 2014’ will mean that Dylan faces criminal charges. Under the provision, any individual provided with the directives and who fails without sensible excuse to comply with the section commits an offence. In such a case, an individual will be regarded as guilty of the described offences under subsection (1) and as such will be liable on summary convictionorder (Crawford 2008, pg. 764). This means possible imprisonment for a period not more than 3 months or to a fine not more than level four on the standard gauge, or to both(Legislation.gov.uk. 2015, pg. 25). An individual provided with a direction under section 37 and who fails without sensible reason to comply with it will be committing an offence. Anindividual found guilty of an offence under subsection 3 will face instant conviction to a fine not more than level two on the standard scale. Question 6: The settlement of negotiations with my client Dylan will seek to influence consciously or unconsciously the assessment of possible alternatives in the negotiated agreement.My BATNA and WATNA concepts of analysingalternatives with my client will present a method for undertaking an assessment in mediation, comprising many of the considerations, which may influence both parties’ use and perception of the analysis. BATNA “the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement” is instrumental for assessing my client’s interests(Ashworth 2004, pg. 270). The option will provides a standard against which any suggested agreement ought to be measured. In essence, BATNA is the best of all the possible substitutes to negotiation should the mediation fail (Carneiro2013, pg. 790). Evaluatingmy client’s BATNA is necessary and should be carefully done and well on good time before the bargaining session in order to avert unpleasant surprises from the conflicting party during the discussions. Attempting to approximate the BATNA of the other party will also be valuable when planning my own negotiation strategy. To make a sound decision concerning possible alternatives for resolution in the mediation with my clients, both parties will consider whatever would happen if they fail to settle. When considering the consequences of not addressing a conflict, then the WATNA ‘Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement will be considered. The worst situations or worst outcomes that would be faced will be meaningful for the negotiation agreement. By comprehending WATNA, the attention of my clientswould be more likely to change from what he has to compromise in the negotiated arrangement to what they could gain from it(Carneiro 2013, pg. 790).This will also enable my clientto avoid accepting an insufficient settlement offer. Any proposal for settlement that is inferiorfor either party’s WATNA should be precluded. Question 7: My lessons about negotiation are that there are no prescribed rules for the process. The parties should freely adopt whatever rules they prefer. Generally, they will agree on matters such as the timing, location, and subject matterof negotiations. Good negotiations should focus on interests, and not positions. The negotiations should pay attention on the underlying matters of all the parties, i.e., their fears, needs, concerns and desires, and how they might be reconciled and acknowledged. Good negotiation practices should separate the involved people from the challenge. The parties should avoid blaming either of the sides for the challenges experienced and deliberate on the perceptions held by both sides. Good practices should ensure that there is good communication between the parties((Legislation.gov.uk. 2015, pg. 27). In the negotiation, it is appropriate to listen actively and carefully to what the other party is saying and admit what is being discussed. This can be undertaken through approaches such as asking questions and by making regular summaries. Most importantly, it is appropriate to evaluate proposals of the other side and thenegotiations’ progress in light of the BATNA. It may turn necessary to break off the dialogues if there seems to be no way of attaining an outcome, which is greaterthan the BATNA. This can happen when it becomes clear that the fundamental interests between the parties are irresoluble or that the other party not really want a negotiation. Bad practices in the negotiation can occur whenever one party in the negotiation process cannot guarantee their trustworthiness or good faith in the negotiations. One of the parties can use negotiation as a stalling tactic to stop the other party from proclaiming its rights (e.g., through arbitration or litigation). Reference List Ashworth, A 2004, ‘Social control and ‘anti-social behaviour’: the subversion of human rights.’ Law Quarterly Review, Vol. 120, no. 2, pp. 263-91. Carneiro, D, Novais, P, Andrade, F, Zeleznikow, J &Neves, J 2013, ‘Using Case-Based Reasoning and Principled Negotiation to provide decision support for dispute resolution.’ Knowledge and information systems, Vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 789-826. Crawford, A & Lister, S 2007. The use and impact of dispersal orders. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Crawford, A 2008, ‘Dispersal Powers and the Symbolic Role of Anti‐Social Behaviour Legislation.’ The Modern law review, Vol. 71, no. 5, pp. 753-784. Legislation.gov.uk. 2015. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/12/pdfs/ukpga_20140012_en.pdf.[Accessed 10 June 15]. Smithson, H & Flint, J 2006, ‘Responding to young people's involvement in anti-social behaviour. A study of local initiatives in Manchester and Glasgow.’ Youth and policy, Vol. 93, pp. 21-39. Squires, P 2008, ‘The politics of anti-social behaviour.’ British Politics, Vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 300-323. Read More