Commons Briefing paper by John Woodhouse. It was first published on Wednesday, 4 March 2015. It was last updated on Tuesday, 24 February 2026.
Drinking alcohol in the street
Councils can use public spaces protection orders to restrict the consumption of alcohol in a public space where it is associated with anti-social behaviour. It is an offence to fail to comply with a request to stop drinking or to surrender alcohol in a controlled drinking area.
The police can disperse individuals engaged in anti-social behaviour where alcohol is a factor. It is an offence to fail to comply with a direction to leave an area.
Other offences include being drunk and disorderly in a public place and being drunk in any highway or other public place.
Secondary information
- Type
- Research briefing
- Reference
- SN05117
- Related items
- Subjects
- Crime prevention Alcoholic drinks Anti-social behaviour Police Powers Public places Young people Public spaces protection orders
- Legislation
- Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997
- Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
- Published by
- Home Affairs Section
- House of Commons Library
- Link
- View this Research briefing on researchbriefings.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-03-03 10:22:18 +0000
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/resources/342251
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/resources/342251
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/resources/342251
- Internal location
- http://researchbriefingsintranet.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN05117