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Perry’s PSPO will just move ‘problems’ out of town centre

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Dressed up as a ‘war on anti-social behaviour’ and used as an excuse for clearing the streets of drinkers, the latest proposals will allow the cash-strapped council to issue money-making fines for often trivial offences. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE

Street thinkers: part-time Mayor Perry was on North End with Borough Commander Dave Stringer (centre) within days of his election in May

The council has started a six-week consultation on what it misleadingly describes as a “new” Public Space Protection Order, or PSPO, for the area outside the Whitgift Centre, North End, Croydon High Street and bits of South Croydon, Broad Green and Waddon.

In fact, it’s just a re-boot of the old PSPO, with knobs on, as the council seeks to invest itself with additional powers to dish out money-spinning on-the-spot fines for a range of offences.

The consultation is a legal requirement to tick a few boxes, and has been made necessary because the previous PSPO was allowed to lapse, with council officials failing to fill out the necessary paperwork to ensure it was renewed – what happens when a local authority goes bust and then hands out redundancy notices to staff willy-nilly.

PSPOs in other parts of the borough, including South Norwood, are also being prepared for consultation later in the year, as Jason Perry, Croydon’s £81,000 per year part-time Mayor, tries to showboat on how he’s in some ways tougher on street drinkers than the last lot.

Displacement theory: the revised PSPO area (outlined in blue) covering the town centre, East and West Croydon Croydon Stations, and parts of Broad Green and Waddon

The council propaganda department failed to respond to Inside Croydon questions about which other areas are going to be PSPO’d, or when those consultations might be expected to go live.

Significantly, in this week’s PSPO consultation announcement from the propaganda bunker, the interests of big business (and medium-sized businesses, too), were given some prominence, with the members of Croydon BID – the business “improvement” district, who pay to get extra police officers along North End – being quoted about why clearing the streets of the homeless and drinkers might help their trade.

According to Matthew Sims, Croydon BID’s chief exec, his organisation is “determined to improve the safety of all those that visit, live and work in the town centre”.

The council announcement included no figures for how having a PSPO in the town centre previously had somehow magically eliminated the number of stabbings occurring in the town centre while it was in force.

“We welcome the council’s move to support the business community in dealing with antisocial behaviour in the town centre,” Sims said, getting a little closer to the real reasons for the PSPO.

Street cleaner: Croydon BID’s Matthew Sims

The council’s propagandists said, “PSPOs are used to address specific nuisances or problems which are detrimental to local quality of life by imposing conditions on the use of a particular area.

“These orders allow councils and the police to specifically target antisocial behaviour and create safer and more welcoming environments for local residents, visitors, and businesses.”

The hypocrisy and contradictions of the PSPO system, especially in relation to some of the businesses it claims to “protect”, are blatant and obvious.

So… under the terms of Perry’s PSPO, if you spend £1.20 on a bottle of lager from Lidl on Church Street and sit in the street to drink it, you face being fined up to £120.

But if you go to Mr Fox round the corner, pay £9.50 for a Rhubarb Paloma and sit outside the pub in part of the public highway they have been allowed to annex, then you can do so with impunity.

What’s more, the PSPO will allow the cash-strapped council to hire in a private security firm as high street bounty hunters, firing off Penalty Charge Notices for even the most trivial of offences, all the while collecting a nice juicy commission.

No fine zone: street drinkers sitting outside this Surrey Street pub will escape any PSPO restrictions

In the council announcement this week, they say, “The proposed PSPO would cover the town centre and its surrounding area, including parts of South Croydon and Broad Green. This is to cover antisocial behaviour hotspots close to the town centre, preventing it moving from the town centre to nearby parks and public spaces.”

“I know that residents care about our town centre, which is why I am determined to restore pride in Croydon, making the most of our council powers and working closely with the police to keep residents and visitors safe,” said part-time Perry.

Proposed conditions of the new town centre PSPO include allowing the police to seize and dispose of open alcohol containers, disperse individuals causing harassment, distress or alarm, and enforcement through fines or prosecutions.

Katharine Street sources remain sceptical of the use of PSPOs as a “blunt instrument”, which fails to address the underlying reasons behind the anti-social behaviour over which Perry and the police appear so concerned. “We saw how it worked under the PSPO previously: it just sees street drinkers moved on to become somebody else’s problem.

“They will cross the road to exit the PSPO zone and find a bench elsewhere.

“Meanwhile, staff from the private security firm, this privatised police force, will issue fines to little old ladies who might drop their shopping list in the street by accident, while failing to deal with a more troublesome gang hanging around on a street corner.”

The consultation, which can be accessed online here, runs until Thursday September 15.

“Residents are asked to let the council know about their personal experiences of anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related crime in central Croydon, as well as their views on how to tackle this.”

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