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Penalty notices for disorder

We are responsible for the policy on penalty notices for disorder.

Penalty notices for disorder were introduced in 2004 as part of the government’s strategy to tackle low level antisocial and nuisance behaviour which formerly may have been dealt with by no more than a warning.

The aim of the scheme is to provide the police with a swift and non-bureaucratic financial punishment to deal with misbehaviour on the spot, as a practical deterrent to future reoffending. Under the scheme, police can issue penalty notices for £50 or £80 for a specified range of offences including being drunk and disorderly and cannabis possession.