‘Litter police’ take to the streets
A private firm’s “litter police” begin patrols across Bath and North East Somerset tomorrow.
3GS, which says online it offers “ethical enforcement”, won the council’s 12-month contract to fine offenders who drop litter, fly-tip or fail to pick up after their dogs.
Opponent John Chapman questioned how long it would last after private firms were dropped by a number of authorities while others walked away where contracts proved unprofitable.
But cabinet member Bob Goodman said he had “absolute faith” in 3GS and argued Bath and North East Somerset Council had nothing to lose as the deal is at zero cost to the authority.
Speaking at last week’s full council meeting, Mr Chapman said: “I’m again going to speak to you about the litter police you’re about to unleash on the people of Bath.
“Since I last spoke to you, Kingdom [another enforcement company] have been kicked out by Liverpool, Plymouth, Darlington and Grimsby. 3GS have been removed from Brighton.
“3GS have terminated contracts in Bradford and Boston due to unprofitability – so if they succeed in reducing littering, they will go.
“I don’t see what the point of employing them is, because it’s not a long-term strategy.”
Under the contract, 3GS enforcement officers will work from 7am to 7pm seven days a week from tomorrow. The firm’s performance will be reviewed after six months.
Officers will fine those who break the rules and reward good behaviour with retail tokens to “members of the public who are observed to have gone above and beyond the call of duty in terms of keeping Bath and North East Somerset a clean and tidy place to live”.
It aims to change behaviour and improve the environment.
Mr Chapman, who has repeatedly spoken out against the scheme, said: “It’s the usual routine of overzealous ticketing like confetti.
“All of their employees mention a strong target-driven culture. They have to issue a certain number of fines, with disciplinary action if not enough people are dropping litter.
“I’ve never seen any disciplinary action of officers issuing inappropriate fines.
“What is the goal of this? Nobody has a clue other than taking money off people under the vague pretext that by issuing fines, something will magically happen.
“It’s made no difference whatsoever. No council has ever said what they’re aiming for.”
He said putting big wheelie bins in Victoria Park would be more effective than having “bandits in the bushes”. He previously warned a private enforcement company would act as “judge, jury and executioner”.
Asked how long the firms are typically in place, Mr Chapman said: “A lot of them are gone in six months because they are ineffective and unpopular.”
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Goodman, the cabinet member for development and neighbourhoods, said: “What we’re trying to do is ensure we have a clean city and clean region.
“It was said that certain authorities have dropped various companies. Equally, others have extended their contracts.
“I have absolute faith in 3GS but we will be monitoring it and will review the contract after six months.
“We won’t have targets for them. We will have the expectation that there will be less litter.
“If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. What have we lost?”
Cllr Goodman said 3GS won the contract because of its focus on education as well as enforcement. He wants to drive down littering of cigarette butts and chewing gum in particular.
He said 3GS will work across Bath and North East Somerset, and he had already had a request from Peasedown St John for officers to tackle a dog fouling issue.
Last July the council adopted the maximum £150 fine for dropping litter, including cigarette ends.
Anyone caught fly-tipping in the area can be issued with a fine up to £400.
3GS is part of the Red Snapper Group. A spokesperson said: “3GS provides proportionate, high quality enforcement services to help local authorities maintain cleaner and greener neighbourhoods.
“Our approach places community relations and reduction of offences above the pure generation of tickets and short-term cash.
“Our model encapsulates enforcement actions that are proportionate, teams that are well paid, well trained and highly motivated, and senior management teams that are able to balance the need to maintain positive community and stakeholder relations, delivering the correct level of enforcement actions to achieve the goals of affecting behaviour change and improving the environment.”