In our July 2017 print issue, we featured the contractor Kingdom Services Group, which started providing environmental protection services in Rotherham on behalf of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in April. Kingdom’s officers are patrolling known hotspots around the South Yorkshire district, issuing fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to anyone caught doing an environmental crime, such as dropping litter (which includes cigarette ends and chewing gum) and not cleaning up dog mess. The contractors handed out 1,403 fines for littering and dog fouling in their first seven weeks of patrols. Their remit is to be widened.
Kingdom, an ACS Pacesetters member, meanwhile has started a 12 month pilot agreement with Peterborough City Council to enforce a new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
Beginning on Monday, June 12, the firm issued 452 fines in their first ten days on patrol: 318 were for littering, 131 for unauthorised cycling, two for spitting and one for urination. The PSPO targets the offences of littering, spitting and failing to dispose of alcohol or leave an area if requested to do so by an authorised officer.
Five Kingdom officers are patrolling the city centre. No fines are being issued for the first six weeks of the PSPO while the officers talked to residents about the order, that covers dog fouling, fly-tipping and graffiti.
Councillor Irene Walsh, Cabinet Member for Communities and Environment Capital, said: “These measures are a step forward in tackling anti-social behaviour and environmental crime in our city which can have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of the local community. The roll out of the second PSPO and the pilot with Kingdom is about making the city a safer, cleaner and more attractive place for residents and visitors to enjoy.”
Visit http://www.kingdom.co.uk/services/environmental-protection/.
