England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
CRIMINAL DIVISION

		Royal Courts of Justice Strand London, WC2A 2LL
		Thursday, 18 September 2008

1. MR JUSTICE MADDISON: On 5th September 2007 in the Crown Court at Birmingham the appellant Elijah Thomas, now aged 22, was convicted after trial of an offence of robbery. He also pleaded guilty to possessing a class A drug with intent to supply to another and offences of dangerous driving, driving without a licence and no insurance. On 9th November 2007 he was sentenced by Mr Recorder Desmond to serve seven years' imprisonment in respect of the robbery, one-and-a-half years' imprisonment consecutively in relation to the drugs offence and 15 months' imprisonment concurrently for the dangerous driving. There was no separate penalty in respect of the other two offences. Thus the total sentence was one of eight years and six months' imprisonment.
2. He was also made subject to an anti-social behaviour order for a period of 10 years, suspended until his release from prison. This prohibited the appellant from entering a defined area of Birmingham (except to see a legal representative or to travel straight through the area), from associating with any of a number of named people in any public place in Birmingham (except when attending court) and in short to avoid any involvement with criminal street gangs in Birmingham. He appeals against sentence by leave of the single judge, that leave being limited to the question of whether or not it was appropriate to make an anti-social behaviour order of the length to which we have referred or indeed at all. It has been indicated on behalf of the appellant that no question as to any other aspect of the sentence is pursued before us today.
3. Very shortly, the appellant was the ringleader in an unpleasant street robbery during the course of which what appeared to be a Stanley knife was produced and used to threaten the complainant.
4. The Recorder made the anti-social behaviour order with the consent of all counsel in the case. Submissions were made on behalf of the appellant only as to the appropriate length of the order, and in particular to the extent to which the judge should have regard to the length of the sentence of imprisonment that he would impose when deciding what the appropriate length of the anti-social behaviour order would be. Having heard those submissions the Recorder made an order of the kind to which we have referred for a period of 10 years.
5. It will not necessarily be wrong in principle in every case to make an anti-social behaviour order suspended until the release of the defendant concerned from a prison sentence, but in the circumstances of this case it is our judgment that the order should not have been made at all. We have regard to the dictum of Henriques J in Shane Tony P [2004] 2 CrAppR (S) 63, [2004] EWCA Crim 287, that "... where custodial sentences in excess of a few months are passed, and offenders are liable to be released on licence, circumstances in which there is demonstrable necessity to make anti–social behaviour orders are likely to be limited." This is an appellant who will be on licence for a period of no less than four-and-a-quarter years following his release. One knows not what his situation will be at the end of that substantial period of licence and as things presently stand the anti-social behaviour order made will continue to affect him until he is 36 years of age.
6. Having regard to the length of the licence and having regard to the remarks of Henriques J to which we have referred, we take the view in this case that there was no necessity for an anti-social behaviour order. We therefore quash the order made and allow the appeal to that extent.