Lords debate hike in ‘busybody’ fines
Clause 4 of the Crime and Policing Bill includes a substantial increase in penalties for breach of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) and Community Protection Notices (CPNs), from £100 to £500. The main result of this change will be more people getting massive fines for dubious non-offences such as having a messy garden, begging, standing in groups and ‘idling’. These penalties will be largely issued by dodgy private enforcement companies who are paid per fine. The Bill is now in the Lords, and two peers – Lord Tim Clement Jones and Baroness Claire Fox – have introduced Committee Stage amendments to remove…
8-year battle for right to pray on the beach
We have been touch with Nigel and Sheila Jacklin since 2018, when they were issued with an order banning them from going to their local beach. The police have pursued cases against the Jacklins for the past 8 years, including two prosecutions alleging that Sheila’s gestures of Hindu prayer were ‘rude’ hand gestures. This must be one of the worst cases of police corruption that we have come across, in terms of the repeated and petty targeting of people over such a long time for their everyday actions. Here is an account by Nigel of the events of the past 8 years….…
Crime and Policing Bill Briefing
The Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a swathe of liberty-robbing measures: it will create absurd new crimes, new blank-cheque powers, and out-of-proportion new penalties. Here is the Manifesto Club’s briefing in advance of the House of Lords Second Reading on 16 October, highlighting some parts of the Bill that are particularly concerning. Increase in fines for ‘busybody’ offences from £100 to £500 (Clause 4) Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) allow local authorities to ban particular activities in a particular area, if they believe that an activity is having a ‘detrimental effect on the quality of life’. Community Protection Notices (CPNs) can…
The council crackdown on countryside freedoms
Councils are using Public Spaces Protection Orders to introduce a swathe of new restrictions on countryside activities. These new orders significantly affect people’s ability to enjoy the freedom of wild open spaces, and even in some cases to stay safe in these…
Homeless woman imprisoned for 18 months for trying to sleep in the YMCA
The Manifesto Club has previously published reports by academics at the University of York and Coventry, which found that people are being imprisoned for anodyne actions such as feeding the birds or asking for 50p. These imprisonments were for breach of a Civil Injunction, a power contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. The Civil Injunction will soon be replaced by Respect Orders, currently passing through parliament; it is our view that Respect Orders will make such unjust imprisonments even more likely. One of the most striking cases in these previous reports was that of Ms Reilly, a homeless woman…
Young deaf man banned from playing loud music
I have received an email from a man whose deaf son was issued with an order banning him from playing ‘loud amplified music’ from his property. The father says: My son lives in a house which we bought for him in 2019, it is a nice neighbourhood mainly made up of older people. My son is 30 years old and is deaf by birth; he wears a cochlear implant, and also has severe anxiety and diagnosed ADHD, both of which he takes medication for. He has received a warning letter and now a Community Protection Notice relating to ‘loud amplified music’, which he…
£500 fine when letter blew out of bin
After the case of a man fined £500 for fly tipping when an envelope blew out of his bin, a similar thing has happened to a lady in Enfield. This case is even worse, however, since the council seems to be partly at fault for the incident. The lady’s bin had been broken – along with her neighbours’ bins – when a car crashed into the front garden in December, and the council failed to replace the bins for several months. In April, a letter that she had placed in her bin was found on the ground by enforcement agents, and she…
Peak District ban on stoves threatens youth outdoor activities
Two Peak District councils have introduced a blanket ban on the use of any ‘naked flame’. We received an email from a local walker, who is concerned that these orders will affect youth outdoor activities such as Duke of Edinburgh (who tend to carry small gas stoves), as well as warm-up stops for youth groups and conservation volunteers, and outdoor training in fire and stove use for children and adults. This is a matter of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is perfectly possible to use camping stoves safely, and this PSPO could have some very perverse unintended consequences. It…
Gatekeepers: How councils are controlling access to the public square
Regulation of the public square Until 10 years ago, most towns or city centres would have had an area where residents could put up a street stall. There were no fees and the stall-holders didn’t have to ask for permission: so long…
Pensioner banned from putting gender-critical posters on her front door
This is a testimony from a lady who was subjected to a one-year battle with her council because of posters she had put up on her front door. When the council approved of her posters, it gave her awards; when it disapproved, it issued legal orders against her and prepared to engage in three-day-long trials in order to defend its position. This shows how controversial political opinions can be classified as ‘anti-social behaviour’ and subject to criminal sanction. Facing a massive legal bill, the lady removed a particular poster, but remains unbowed and continues to use her door to promote the issues…
Leicester pensioner fined £100 for political campaigning
Leicester City Council has passed a draconian Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that bans many of the habitual activities of local political and religious groups. Among other things, the order bans: So far, dozens of religious groups have received warning notices for…
Campaign Against PSPOs
What are PSPOs? Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) impose bans on activities in public spaces. The order can be issued if a council officer believes an activity is having a ‘detrimental effect’ on the ‘quality of life in the locality’. There is…