Hundreds of Criminal Behaviour Orders active across Greater Manchester as officers crack down on Anti-Social Behaviour

Officers across every single district are continuing to utilise numerous resources to tackle persistent criminality – including the successful use of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs).

CBOs are used to target individuals who are repeat demand generators and have been identified as often engaging in criminality in a specified area. They are given to people who have been convicted of an offence with the aim to prevent them engaging in further criminal behaviour.

The offences can range from shoplifting to wider anti-social behaviour. Since April 2023, hundreds of CBOs have been made, with 565 still active and in-play from that time. 

While a CBO is a civil order, breaching one is a criminal offence, and may result in arrest, charges, and punishments including imprisonment, fines, or community service.

Local neighbourhood teams regularly review the tools that they have at their disposal, and CBOs are successfully used as a way of punishing people who cause distress to the lives of law-abiding citizens.

In particular, town centre officers can grant dozens to prevent repeat offenders from visiting shopping and leisure hotspots and arrest them if they breach the conditions. 

CBO specifications can include areas, specific shops, or even particular brands and chains.

Chief Superintendent John-Paul Ruffle, from GMP’s Force Prevention Branch, said: “CBOs are a valuable tool to fight crime across Greater Manchester, ensuring that offenders are starved of the areas in which they operate and cause a persistent nuisance to people’s lives.

“The breach of one of the orders can result in an arrest and even imprisonment, which acts as a deterrent to those who think they can cause harm and issues whenever they feel like they want to.

“In addition, CBOs can last anywhere from a few months to being indefinite, meaning that the worst offenders can be prevented from their criminal behaviour for the foreseeable future.”

Greater Manchester Police provided examples of how CBOs are implemented across the force, including why they have been granted, what they prohibit, and how long they are in place for:

Faisal Iqbal Mohammad (25.05.1981), of Tameside, has been given a lifetime order – preventing him from entering a defined area of Ashton-Under-Lyne town centre until 31 December 2099. This order was made in response to reports of shoplifting, theft, and burglary.

The order allows him to have appointments with official agencies, such as doctors, dentists, and solicitors, on the condition he leaves the centre immediately after.

Kelsey Atwell (12.07.2004), of Stockport, has a CBO that runs until April 2027, and bans her from entering seventeen different stores in the town – in addition to not being allowed into the town centre.

She breached the CBO in May 2024, and was sent to prison for offences following this.