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Perry’s new PSPO zone is ‘just window-dressing’ say critics

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Surrey Street traders to establish group to represent their interests after council ignored their pleas for help over thefts and violence on Croydon’s historic street market

Action: traders working on Surrey Street Market are banding together after their pleas were ignored by the council and the police

Mayor Jason Perry is axing more than 20 Neighbourhood Safety Officers, but he has re-introduced a PSPO – a Public Spaces Protection Order – which he says will give the police extra powers in the town centre and surrounding area to act on antisocial behaviour.

Those accused of anti-social behaviour in the PSPO could face a fixed penalty notice of £100 or prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court potentially leading to a criminal conviction and a fine of up to £1,000.

The council says, “The PSPO will help to tackle a range of antisocial behaviour in the town centre.” But given the events of last weekend and the Metropolitan Police’s arbitrary arrest of dozens of people using the new Public Order Act, many suggest that Croydon’s PSPO is unnecessary, excessive and a potential for creating flashpoints.

“The police already have plenty of powers of arrest,” one Katharine Street critic told Inside Croydon.

“A few plastic maps posted on lamp-posts down North End is not going to do anything to change the fundamental issues we face. As with so much with Mayor Perry, this is just window-dressing.”

Shopping trip: Mayor Perry and his mates about to pop in to Zara. Critics say his PSPO is just window-dressing, and that the police already have plenty of powers of arrest

The PSPO area is larger than previous zones, extending from North End and Fairfield ward into West Croydon, Broad Green and parts of Waddon. The council claims to have “overwhelming support” for the PSPO from residents and businesses.

Yet traders on Surrey Street, Croydon’s historic street market, say that they have been ignored and abandoned by the council, the police, the Croydon BID organisation and their ward’s Labour councillor after repeated pleas for greater protection and more patrols to deter drug dealing, ASB, thefts and violence against the shopkeepers and stall-holders.

Unconvinced by the effectiveness of a PSPO without the presence of Met officers on the beat or the now redundant NSOs, Surrey Street businesses are banding together to form a traders’ organisation to represent their interests, including lobbying for better policing and services from the council.

Zoning out: the new PSPO area (marked in blue)

The council maintains that the PSPO means the police will have the power to issue on-the-spot fines or prosecute offenders who refuse to comply with the order.

The PSPO is set to run for the next three years; the council says that it will be reviewed regularly “to ensure that it remains effective in addressing the targeted behaviours”.

A first review will be conducted in early July, “as part of a commitment to ensure that there are no adverse effects on the borough’s most vulnerable residents and emergence of hotspot areas”.

“This new PSPO will support our partnership work with the police to tackle antisocial behaviour, and I’m pleased that it has the support of residents and businesses,” Perry claimed.

After a year in office, Perry said, “As Mayor I want to restore pride in our town centre and kickstart its regeneration, and making our streets clean, safe and welcoming is an important first step in achieving both.”

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