How failing to clean your windows could leave you with a criminal record
THOUSANDS of householders who fail to clean their windows or tidy their gardens are facing the threat of a criminal record under new Victorian-style laws.
Playing music, drinking alcohol in public, watching television and even crying are among the things being outlawed by councils using Community Protection Notices (CPNs).
The orders were a key measure of anti-yob laws unveiled by then Home Secretary Theresa May in the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act.
Local authorities can issue them to individuals or businesses such as takeaway shops banning them from doing certain things if they believe it will improve the quality of life in a location.
Failing to comply with a notice – similar to an Asbo – is a criminal offence which can be punished by an on-the- spot fine of up to £100. Individuals can also be taken to court where the maximum fine would be £2,500 and businesses can be fined £20,000 for a breach.
The first analysis of the new power has found that in the 12 months to October last year, 107 councils issued a total of 3,943 CPNs. Newham in east London imposed the most with 1,486 followed by Wakefield on 802.
Today’s report, by campaign group the Manifesto Club, warns that as a result, there is now a ‘serious danger’ that CPNs are being used to ‘impose unreasonable restrictions upon law-abiding members of the public’.
Some councils have applied them to criminalise ‘very ordinary behaviour’ in a bid to rake in money, the report claims. Town hall chiefs in Rotherham ordered one person to clean the windows of their house both internally and externally – or they would be committing an offence. In Warwick, council chiefs even issued notices banning youths from knocking on doors and running away.
The Manifesto Club’s report said: ‘While door knocking is annoying, it is also a relatively run-of-the-mill childhood misdemeanour and hardly warranting of a criminal record. Such orders undermine the privacy and sanctity of the home. If you cannot cry within your own house, or feed the birds in your garden, then the home has no significant meaning as a private space which is protected from the demands of the outer world.’
Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club, said: ‘CPNs come with almost no restrictions on their use: a local authority officer can fill in a form ordering you to do or not do something, and it is a crime to disobey. The officer only need to believe your conduct is having a “detrimental effect” on the area, which is an incredible low burden of proof.
‘The potential for the abuse of this power is massive. People can be issued with orders merely because their gardens are not in keeping with their neighbours.’
Ministers say they want to stop irresponsible homeowners or tenants from blighting whole streets or neighbourhoods by regularly dumping rubbish in their own garden.
Councils say the orders, which allow them to target anti- social behaviour at a local level, have widespread public support.
Orders can be issued by a police officer, police community support officer, council worker or private security guard employed by the local town hall.