‘Swift, Simple, Effective Justice?’ Identifying the Aims of Penalty Notices for Disorder and Whether these have been Realised in Practice

Since the introduction of penalty notices for disorder ( PNDs ), there has been no clear political statement as to the purpose of the scheme. The findings of a grounded analysis of the relevant parliamentary debates, consultation papers and W hite P apers on PNDs (which have not received any consideration in the literature thus far) are presented, providing an overall thematic framework within which to understand and assess PNDs . The findings of a critical review of 250 PNDs undertaken by the author are considered in light of this framework, to ask whether, and to what extent, PNDs achieve their aims.