Legal background Serious Crime Prevention Orders
Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPO) were introduced in the Serious Crime Act 2007 and apply to adults only. A SCPO is a type of civil injunctive order which is aimed at preventing serious crime. If a person breaches an order they commit a criminal offence. Section 8 of the Act states that a serious crime prevention order may be made only on an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales); the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (England and Wales); the Lord Advocate (Scotland); or the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland).