Young people who wear balaclavas to intimidate members of the public and cause anti-social behaviour in the city centre will face the consequences from 15 September.
Nottingham is set to become one of the first cities in the UK to introduce restrictions on the wearing of face coverings such as balaclavas.
The order, which has been backed by the public, will provide police officers and council officers with the power to require a person to remove their face covering where their identity is being concealed to commit crime or anti-social behaviour.
There are a number of powers available to the police, including £70 on-the-spot fines, confiscation of the face covering and referral to our Immediate Justice Programme.
This is where young people must carry out community work such as litter picking or graffiti removal in the city centre.
Those who continue to flout the order could be issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order, which will see them banned from the city centre indefinitely.
Evidence gathered by Nottinghamshire Police identified more than 180 city centre incidents involving face coverings or balaclavas between June 2025 and June 2026.
Around 75 per cent of the incidents analysed took place in locations such as Old Market Square, Clumber Street and the area around the Victoria Centre.
The measure is not a blanket ban on face coverings.
It will only be used when officers reasonably believe a face covering is being used in connection with crime, anti-social behaviour or intimidating conduct. Clear exemptions will protect people who wear face coverings for legitimate reasons, including religious, health, medical or work needs.
City Commander Superintendent Chris Pearson said:
“There is only one reason that young people come into the city wearing balaclavas – and that is to conceal their identity to commit crime and intimidate members of the public and our business community. Not any longer. Your time is up.
“Any person found to be wearing a balaclava or similar face covering in the city centre who we suspect is involved in crime or anti-social behaviour will be stopped by our officers. We will then use all the powers at our disposal to ensure they cannot wear that item again.
“This is all about disrupting criminality. I can’t be clearer – we don’t want you in our city centre if you are going to cause these problems. Residents have had enough. Businesses have had enough. We’ve had enough.
“With the introduction of our facial recognition van and our high-visibility city centre patrols, there really is nowhere to hide.
“We hope that other parts of the country will look at what we are doing in Nottingham and that these measures will be introduced in other towns and cities.”
This is all part of Operation Reclaim, a partnership approach to tackling the major issues impacting the city centre, including youth anti-social behaviour, illegal e-bikes, drug dealing, rough sleeping, weapon carrying and retail crime.
Anti-social behaviour in the city centre has reduced by 42 per cent since the inception of Op Reclaim.
Nottingham City Council has introduced the face covering restriction following a public consultation. The new restriction will come into effect on Tuesday 15 September.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden said:
“This restriction makes it easier for police and partners to stop crime and anti-social behaviour in its tracks by taking away the veil of anonymity that some people try to hide behind.
“It also gives the majority of people who enter our great city the peace of mind and increased confidence that they will be safer, because any criminals who come here will find it increasingly difficult to operate without being seen by the city’s multi-agency array of high-visibility officers, network of CCTV cameras and facial recognition cameras.
“And I’m delighted that our Immediate Justice Programme can be used by people who fall foul of this ban, as it will mean they will be made to swiftly and very visibly pay back the community they have harmed.”
