Shropshire Star

How begging, bhangra music and bad driving have led to growing PSPO fines

Public Space Protection Orders increased 306% from 2015 to 2016.

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A man begging

Councils have accelerated their use of “busybody” powers to criminalise acts such as swearing, dog walking and busking in public spaces, according to a civil liberties group.

The apparent rise in Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) has been met with concern from the Manifesto Club, which dubbed them a “blank cheque” for arbitrary use of power.

The crackdown has targeted people swearing, loitering, leafleting, skateboarding, sleeping rough and spitting, according to data released to the group under Freedom of Information requests.

Skateboarder
Hillingdon Council can fine people for using skateboards (Carl Court/PA)

Introduced in 2014, PSPOs let local authorities ban behaviour deemed to have a “detrimental effect” on “quality of life”, with fines and prosecutions for violations.

Overall, of the 348 authorities in England and Wales to whom the powers are available, 152 (44%) now have a PSPO in place.

Separate Freedom of Information requests sent to every council in England and Wales by the Press Association show 470 fines were issued in 2015, rising to 1,906 in 2016, for PSPO violations such as playing music too loudly in cars and not having a dog on a lead.

Fixed Penalty Notices issued for breaching a Public Space Protection Order by councils in England and Wales in 2015 and 2016
(PA graphic)

The orders are particularly harsh on the homeless, Manifesto Club director Josie Appleton said, adding that those banning rough sleeping, bin-raking and begging were turning “social destitution into a sort of criminality”.

This month, Oxford Council was accused by the Green Party of harassing the homeless with warnings they could be fined up to £2,500 for leaving their belongings in doorways.

An anti-PSPO campaigner
Public Space Protection Orders were implemented to deter anti-social behaviour, but have their critics (John Stillwell/PA)

:: One person was fined £60 after being caught with 216 canisters of nitrous oxide at Latitude Festival.

Discarded nitrous oxide canisters (PA)
Discarded nitrous oxide canisters (PA)

In 2016, Waveney and Suffolk Coastal district councils took the unusual step of implementing a PSPO for only four days – the duration of the festival.

The council banned the possession and consumption of psychoactive substances, otherwise known as legal highs, on the festival site and the surrounding roads.

:: In 2015 and 2016, Hillingdon Council issued 726 fines – the most of any council that responded to the FOI requests.

Councils in England and Wales which have issued the most Fixed Penalty Notices in 2015 and 2016 for breaching a Public Space Protection Order
(PA graphic)

The council could not say why the fines were levied, as it had penalised so many people it would have taken it too long to find out.

However, Hillingdon can fine people in designated areas for offences such as spitting on the floor, gathering in groups of two or more unless walking to or from a vehicle, using skateboards or rollerblades, leaving a car engine running, having a barbecue, being in charge of more than six dogs, and feeding birds.

:: In Southampton there were 30 fines levied for begging in 2016, for which the penalty is £100.

Beggar
One beggar in Southampton has been handed eight £100 fines (Yui Mok/PA)

One 45-year-old man, identified by the council as “RR”, was given eight fines between August and December 2016. The man, of no fixed abode, was asked to pay £800 in total.

:: One person was fined by Mansfield District Council for “human defecation” in September 2016.

:: Kensington and Chelsea has a PSPO which bans a range of driving behaviour around the area of department store Harrods, the Natural History Museum and Sloane Square.

Three gold cars from Saudi Arabia with parking tickets in Knightsbridge (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Three gold cars from Saudi Arabia with parking tickets in Knightsbridge (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The borough is plagued by “supercar season” when owners, often from oil-rich Middle Eastern states, bring their vehicles to the capital for the summer. Most of the 53 fines levied in 2016 were for revving an engine or accelerating rapidly.

Luxury cars in particular fell foul of this offence, with the drivers of a Lamborghini, a black Ferrari F430 Spider F1 convertible and a white Maserati all fined.

In June 2016, the driver of a white Mercedes C63 was also fined £100 for “playing loud bhangra music”, while in the same month someone was penalised for “performing stunts (filming)” in their vehicle.

:: Three fines of £75 were given by Sefton Council to people with their faces covered, who were “suspected by police to be involved with causing anti-social behaviour”.

Hooded youths
Sefton Council is not fond of hoodies (Martin Rickett/PA)

Sefton’s PSPO states that in designated areas, the “head and face [must] not be covered by hoods or any other face coverings save for specific items of clothing which reflect the individual’s cultural values”. At the time of Sefton’s response, none of the fines had been paid.

:: Punters were given 18 fines in Cambridge for advertising or touting a punt tour on the river Cam.

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