All clear: a tram rattles past the George Street and North End junction, with the homeless people’s meagre possessions back in place, despite threats from council security contractors
Council security contractors may have failed to follow the law over their ‘thuggery’ and ‘bullying’ of what they called an ‘encampment’ in the town centre. By STEVEN DOWNES and KEN TOWL
Bullying: the offensive notice
Threats of enforcement action against what the council described as “an encampment” on George Street failed to materialise this morning, as the official notice plastered on to the wall of the Whitgift Almshouses had been removed and none of the uniformed private security goons made an appearance by the time of their own 8am deadline.
Inside Croydon reported yesterday how the enforcement notice “to person’s [sic] unknown”, had been posted on the corner of George Street and North End, threatening criminal prosecutions, confiscation of belongings, fines of up to £2,000 and exile from the borough of Croydon.
The council notice came from the Town Hall’s “anti-social behaviour team”, an initiative from “zero tolerance” Jason Perry, the failed Mayor of Croydon, who can now add threatening vulnerable people to his growing list of failures.
The potential enforcement action prompted by the 8am deadline had attracted attention from senior Conservative councillors this morning, but none of Perry’s private security force, who are funded out of taxpayers’ money.
Oh the irony: the Whitgift Almshouses motto, which someone needs to explain to piss poor Perry
The heavy-handed and illiterate notice brought widespread condemnation on social media for being uncaring and for persecuting homeless people. The vulnerable people using this street corner in the town centre had been receiving hot meals from the Whitgift Almshouses.
The Whitgift Almshouses were established more than 600 years ago, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift. They continue to provide charitable aid today.
The entry to the Almshouses has the Latin motto over the doorway: Qui dat pauperi non indigebit, which translates to “He who gives to the poor shall not lack”. It is thought that Jason Perry does not understand Latin. Or irony.
Inside Croydon understands that the Whitgift Foundation had not been contacted by Croydon Council over its private security guards’ intentions to harass the homeless.
By midmorning today, and despite the crass threats, a couple of the homeless people, who remain homeless in Perry’s Croydon, were back on the street corner, causing no particular harm, and certainly not conducting any “anti-social behaviour”, as falsely alleged by council officials.
Trolley folly: council threats have come to nothing (so far), but have cost the taxpayer
Amid the social media outrage at the council’s uncaring and callous conduct over the notice, there is also a strong suggestion that the council has conducted itself beyond its legal powers, without providing warning letters, accumulating satisfactory evidence or providing reasonable cause for complaint. The council notices were issued without any order from a judge or approval from the police.
Guidance from the human rights’ group Liberty suggests that the homeless people ought to have been given some right of appeal against the notice, and not just less than 48 hours to clear off or else.
This is not the first time that the council, with its new force of under-trained security guards, working together with Croydon BID, the business improvement district, and some North End shopkeepers, have been accused of unnecessarily heavy-handed treatment of homeless people who camp out in the town centre shopping area.
Meanwhile, part-time Perry’s actions can’t be challenged at a Town Hall meeting before July. Under a schedule of council business approved by the £86,000 per year Mayor, apart from the ceremonial council annual meeting later this month, there are just three meetings of full council for the rest of this year.
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I’m glad to see you mention the Whitgift motto ‘Qui dat pauperi non indigebit’ which means ‘he who gives to to poor will lack nothing.’ It may be apposite that the writer of Proverbs went on to say ‘qui despicit deprecantem sustinebit penuriam’: ‘he who closes his eyes to them will suffer poverty.’
King Solomon was very wise. The same can’t be said of Mayor Perry, whose business is currently summed up as:
– Credit score has decreased significantly
– Net assets dropped significantly over the last 3 years
– High debt ratio
That being said, if or when Carlton Building Plastics Limited does fold, you can be sure it won’t be Jason that ends up in poverty, just the poor sods he’ll owe money to