Section 48: Powers of Crown Court to replace orders on breach
211.As a result of section 16(2) of the 2007 Act, the maximum duration of an SCPO is five years. This overall limit constrains a court’s powers to extend the duration of an order, including when considering the variation of an order on breach under section 21 of the 2007 Act (see subsection (7) of that section). This section amends section 21 of the 2007 Act to enable the court, following the conviction of a person for breach of an SCPO, to discharge the existing SCPO and make a new order for up to five years. The amendments to section 21 preserve the option of varying the existing SCPO, including by extending its duration subject to the overall five-year limit running from the date the order was activated.