Council to recruit another team of litter enforcers
NEW anti-litter enforcers could soon be patrolling the streets of Kirklees.
The council is hiring a squad of environment enforcement officers to improve the state of the borough.
And they will have the authority to use “enforcement tools” - such as handing out fixed penalty notices - to tackle anti-social behaviour including littering and fly-tipping.
The move to hire four greenspace and environment enforcement officers comes less than two years after the council binned unpopular “litter police” Kingdom.
That decision followed months of complaints from the public about the over-zealous activities of the company’s employees, and led directly to the termination of its contract.
The new jobs, which are being advertised on Kirklees Council’s website with a salary starting at £19,554, are full-time permanent roles.
They will address fly tipping, waste on land and/or in gardens, act to reduce litter, and tackle trade waste issues, fly posting and dog offences including the removal of stray or dangerous dogs.
The job description checklist includes: “Challenge behaviour and encourage environmental improvement through engaging and developing relationships quickly, providing guidance and warnings.”
The new front-line staff will wear Kirklees uniforms.
Among their responsibilities will be to:
Provide a visible presence
Prepare and issue notices
Investigate concerns
Gather evidence to support prosecution “where necessary”
Complaints will be investigated and enforcement undertaken “in compliance with appropriate legislation, council policy and expectations”.
Among the requirements for the role are the ability “to deal with conflict situations appropriately” and to be “capable of being authoritative when necessary”.
Appropriate training will be a key element for anyone hired to do the jobs following the Kingdom experience.
Critics of the Cheshire-based private environmental protection firm said its enforcement officers behaved rudely and aggressively.
They said people had been harassed, intimidated, publicly embarrassed and bullied.
Kingdom’s civil enforcement officers were empowered to hand out on-thespot £75 fines for anyone caught littering.
It was revealed that the firm was making £50,000 a month in Kirklees.
However only 15% of the cash £11.25 - went to the council, with Kingdom keeping £63.75 from each ticket.
The private litter patrollers were accused of using a range of tactics to encourage people to pay up, such as pretending to phone the police.
They operated on public property, such as supermarket car parks and fast-food takeaways to target shoppers and customers.
They also targeted dog walkers and workers, including one woman who was falsely accused of dropping a cigarette butt.
Sometimes they lay in wait inside a car, watching for someone to drop litter before pouncing.
The unpopularity of Kingdom and its approach to enforcement led to the setting up of an online petition calling on the council to sack the company.
That petition remains active.