YOBS FACE £100 ON-SPOT FINES
councillors back crackdown on anti-social behaviour – but it won’t include ‘aggressive’ begging
MANCHESTER councillors have agreed to back a controversial plan to crack down on anti-social behaviour in the city centre with £100 on-the-spot fines.
A final version of the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was finally signed off by Labour councillors at a group meeting following months of wrangling.
It would give council officers and police extra powers to ban a range of infringements including anyone caught urinating in public, dropping a syringe or refusing to move from a doorway after being asked.
The penalty is a £100 on-the-spot fine, rising to £1,000 in court if unpaid.
A clause prohibiting ‘aggressive’ begging was dropped after it sparked a fierce political row – human rights group Liberty said the plans were ‘cruel and perverse’ and promised a legal challenge.
The town hall has consistently said the order is focused on anti-social behaviour and isn’t a move to demonise rough sleepers.
More than 3,000 people responded to a public consultation over the prospective PSPO, and the council said the majority opposed the begging clause.
Hundreds of respondents said they would rather see more support for people begging. The list of actions still included in the finalised proposal are:
■ Consuming alcohol in a public space other than a licensed premises or area.
■ Discarding hypodermic needles or syringes in a public space (except a proper sharps container).
■ Urinating or defecating in a public place other than a toilet.
■ Anyone obstructing a building entrance or exit or stairwell, or a footpath or road in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles can’t get past, must move within a reasonable time if asked to do so by an authorised officer.
The PSPO can now be authorised by strategic director of neighbourhoods Fiona Worrall. It is understood she hasn’t formally made a decision yet, but should the order be granted there is a six-week period during which an appeal can be made to the High Court by anyone wishing to challenge it.
If imposed, the PSPO would require the notice to be formally advertised and signage put up within the city centre zone advertising the specified restrictions. There would also be a period of awarenessraising by police and council officers. City centre spokesman Pat Karney said: “We will review the scheme in six months to see if he has achieved the changes in behaviour we need. If it doesn’t we will scrap it.”
The council says that there is no intention to ‘outsource enforcement’ of the PSPO, as happens with the authority’s litter police.
The order is intended to give more powers to council and police officers who deal with issues associated with vulnerable people such as rough sleepers. The idea is to ‘signpost them to help, but take appropriate action if anti-social behaviour persists.’
A third of arrests in Manchester in the last year involved alcohol intoxication, town hall documents say, with reports of people urinating and defecating outside people’s homes, in the street and near pubs and clubs.