Town centre orders to prevent anti-social behaviour in Luton enforced more than 660 times during the last year
Town centre orders to prevent anti-social behaviour in Luton enforced more than 660 times during the last year.
The borough council and other agencies have implemented anti-social behaviour orders in Luton town centre 661 times in the last year, according to a meeting.
According to a report to the LBC’s review and scrutiny board, the local authority issued a public places protection order (PSPO) in 2017.
According to the report, this order was renewed and extended last year to include areas of High Town and South Ward. “The PSPOs ban begging, spitting, urinating, and defecating.
Officers from the neighbourhood enforcement team, Bedfordshire Police, and LBC’s waste investigations support and enforcement (WISE) can issue fixed penalty notices for breaches.
In the year to August 1, there were 182 fines for spitting, 48 for street drinking, 28 for begging, 12 for urinating, and one for dog control. There were also 295 interactions related to begging and 94 for street drinking.
“This has resulted in four criminal behaviour orders being obtained, with three more pending court hearings and one civil injunction.”
Conservative Poets councillor Aslam Khan told the board, “What this report does not tell us is how many persons you have stopped from reoffending. “The whole system approach is failing,” he said. “The same individuals are out begging and drinking again.
You may be moving the problem from one corner to another. “It surprises me that we as a town can’t deal with this problem as others have done.” Labour Central councillor Mohammed Yaqub Hanif enquired about the multi-agency approach to begging, stating:
“Some just roam around the town centre and work in shifts.”I’ve seen folks throw their bags in a car and drive away.
Some are becoming more aggressive. I’ve seen young kids bring pets as big as a miniature pony to show off. What is being done to address this?
There are also people drinking most of the time on the town hall stairs, so something permanent must be done to preserve the area beneath the balcony.” Mr Hardiman explained: “We may speak with an individual five, six, or seven times per day. It is being addressed.
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