Enfield residents have given their overwhelming support to new PSPOs which will provide more effective powers to help reduce anti-social behaviour.
- Proposals for the PSPOs received overwhelming support from Enfield respondents
- Behaviours to be targeted include car cruising, use of psychoactive substances, loitering, causing intimidation, etc.
- PSPOs to come into force by early Spring and offenders will be issued a penalty notice or face prosecution
Enfield residents have given their overwhelming support to new Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) which will provide more effective powers to help reduce anti-social behaviour in the borough.
Car-cruising, the use of psychoactive substances on our streets, and intimidatory loitering in Enfield will be targeted as new rules come into play.
Of the 20 anti-social behaviours Enfield Council consulted on, all received between 80% and 98% support from respondents.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Daniel Anderson, said: “We have received overwhelming backing from residents for the proposed PSPOs. Enfield is a truly fantastic place to live and work and play, and the law-abiding majority rightly expect to feel safe and secure when going about their daily business.
"Reducing anti-social behaviour will inevitably help build community cohesion enhancing our already strong communities. In turn, a cleaner, greener and safer Borough will attract further growth and investment."
The behaviours targeted cover:
- Control of alcohol consumption
- Vehicle cruising, which includes speeding, driving in convoy, racing, performing stunts, sounding horns and revving engines
- Riding of mopeds causing distress, alarm or annoyance and/or criminal damage
- Holding or throwing of fireworks to cause intimidation, etc.
- Prostitution
- Persons loitering, causing nuisance, etc., in and around council estate blocks
- Intimidatory begging
- Possession, consumption, supply and use of psychoactive substances (formerly known as ‘legal highs’)
- Dog ownership and dog controls including having disposable bags, picking up of faeces, walking a maximum of four dogs at a time (or up to six if licensed by the Council), excluding dogs from certain areas and playgrounds and keeping dogs on leads
- Smoking in children’s playgrounds, including smokeless and electronic cigarettes
- Flying of drones
- Motor vehicles left on Council land or land adjoining the highway for an unreasonable period of time
- Sale of goods to stationary vehicles at main road junctions
The Cabinet Member for Community Safety Public Health, Cllr Krystle Fonyonga, said: "The behaviours considered in the consultation were reported and raised by residents, councillors, the Police and council officers. Respondents provided a great deal of information and many useful comments, which helped inform the PSPOs. Their participation, together with that of the Police, were invaluable and for that we are immensely grateful.”
The Cabinet Member for Housing Housing Regeneration, Cllr Ahmet Oykener, said: “All our residents deserve to live in peace and without fear of intimidation. The PSPOs, which will be vigorously enforced, will improve our residents' quality of life and their well-being.”
The PSPOs come into force within the next couple of months. A breach of a PSPO would be a criminal offence, subject to a fixed penalty notice or possibly prosecution.
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*Overall there were 796 respondents to the public consultation, the overwhelming majority of which were residents. Respondents were asked whether they agreed with each proposal; agreed but suggested some changes; disagreed; or were unsure.