Thousands of fines have been handed out by Waltham Forest Council since 2022 as part of a borough-wide crackdown on antisocial behaviour, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
Thousands of fines have been handed out since 2022 as part of a borough-wide crackdown on antisocial behaviour.
Waltham Forest Council introduced a public space protection order (PSPO), covering the entire borough, in 2022.
People can be fined up to £1,000 for refusing to stop drinking in public; urinating, littering or spitting in the street; or begging in an ‘aggressive or intimidating’ manner. In most cases, offenders are handed a £100 fixed penalty notice on the spot.
The PSPO also prevents groups of two or more people being a nuisance, and individuals behaving in an alarming or intimidating way.
Since the PSPO was introduced, 2,500 fines have been issued to offenders across the borough.
Street drinking was the worst antisocial offence, accounting for 344 charges.
A further 310 were fined for urinating in a public place, on top of the 306 who were fined for spitting.
Stopping on zig-zag markings outside schools made up the bulk of fines, however, with 1,540 people being handed slapped with a fixed penalty notice (FPN).
Councillor Khevyn Limbajee, the cabinet member for community safety, said at a full council meeting last night (17th July) the PSPO had “enabled an effective response to the most frequent issues of antisocial behaviour”.
PSPOs were introduced with the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2014, under Conservative prime minister David Cameron.
The public space protection order (PSPO) is due to end in early September, though the town hall wants to continue it through to 2028.
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