Adam Wagner acted for David Murphy in a successful High Court challenge to a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) imposed upon him in 2012.
SCPOs are a relatively unusual civil order imposed on people who have committed serious crimes. They can be highly onerous, permitting the Crown Court to impose restrictions on movement and association for up to five years. They can be challenged in the High Court through an application under the Serious Crime Act 2007.
Mr Justice Openshaw heard the application on Friday 20 November 2015 and ruled that Mr Murphy’s Order was to be reduced in length by over a year. The Greater Manchester Police had unlawfully requested an order which on proper analysis would last longer than the maximum 5-year period permitted under statute.
SCPOs are one of a number of civil orders which are available to the police in order to control crime. Adam has acted successfully in a number of cases involving such orders, for example in January 2015 successfully resisting the imposition of an Injunction to Prevent Gang Violence on Scott Calder (Chief Constable of Greater Manchester v Calder [2015] EWHC B11 (QB)). An application to impose an SCPO on Mr Calder also failed at a later Crown Court hearing, in which Adam also acted.
The Oxford Human Rights Hub has recently commented on both SCPOs and Gang Injunctions.
