Time was that crime – and the fear of crime – were different between cities and shires. Cities, or at least parts of them, were high-crime and high in anti-social behaviour, while small towns were less so. If that were ever true, it isn’t any longer, writes Mark Rowe.
No matter what part of the country geographically, or what sort of place – market town, seaside holiday or retirement town – towns are finding they have crime, whether arising from county lines drug dealing that brings the drugs trade out of cities to counties, anti-social behaviour (ASB) arising from depressed high streets with shuttered shops, or violence arising from Friday and Saturday nights out.
A further factor – affecting both actual crime and citizens’ fear of crime and their own safety when outside – is the hollowing out of police presence and response since the public sector austerity after 2010. Hence widespread adoption of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) since the mid-2010s, as made law under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
Typically, PSPOs are in place in set geographical areas, to combat so-called low-level crime or nuisances, such as littering, dog fouling, aggressive begging, urinating in public, and drug dealing and use. For example Merthyr County Borough Council is consulting residents on a proposed Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to combat on-street drinking and drug taking in a Merthyr Tydfil town centre exclusion zone.
North West Leicestershire District Council likewise recently went out to consultation about a proposed PSPO, covering the centre of Ashby de la Zouche, including Hood Park and Bath Grounds outside the town’s main shopping streets. Andrew Woodman, a councillor and chair of the North West Leicestershire Community Safety Partnership, said: “Ashby is a safe and vibrant town, but as with anywhere there are instances of antisocial behaviour which we are keen to reduce. Residents may have noticed small canisters of nitrous oxide littering the streets, or may have experienced alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour.”
Also typically, if a PSPO is breached, police or council enforcement officers – or contracted security officers – could issue a fixed penalty fine of £100; and failure to pay this could result in prosecution and a court fine of up to £1,000.
The emerging problem is that even when PSPOs are made – and renewed after three years – and even if people are given fines, the problems do not go away any more than the offenders do. For example, in Barnstaple in north Devon (pictured) a renewed and revised PSPO was made in January 2021. Civil Enforcement Officers who deal with car parking in the district, are among those who may enforce the PSPO by issuing Fixed Penalty Notices. Police and council officers met recently in Barnstaple town centre to visit locations that are regularly the site of reports of ASB and crime.
Barnstaple Town Centre Manager, Hannah Harrington said: “Antisocial behaviour can have a really damaging impact on people’s enjoyment of the town centre – not to mention their lives. Working with other agencies like the police in order to tackle behaviours such as substance abuse, aggressive begging and causing others to feel harassed, is essential. We are working hard to reduce ASB in the town centre and will continue to support businesses to help them do the same. By taking a partnership approach, we aim to improve the quality of life and experience for all residents, businesses and visitors to Barnstaple town centre.”
And Devon and Cornwall Police Sector Inspector for Barnstaple, Andy Wills said: “Unfortunately, substance misuse is the driver for much of the street-based antisocial behaviour, crime, and begging we see on our streets. With Christmas approaching, we anticipate an increase in alcohol consumption, and with it, a rise in ASB and crime.
“Whilst crime can be seen as being both the symptom and the disease, it is key that we take a multi-agency approach that considers the needs of the community to identify and tackle the social, health, economic, and behavioural issues which lead to a person committing an offence. It is also important to ensure we target our resources effectively to deliver both sanction and remedy where appropriate.”
Significantly, after a recent court case, a man who while begging was accosting people outside cashpoint machines in a town centre was described as ‘single-handedly making the town into a no-go zone for people who were regularly accosted’. Hastings Borough Council applied to local magistrates for a Criminal Behaviour Order. Yet Hastings’ PSPOs include a borough-wide ban on aggressive begging. In Hastings as in innumerable other places, what has been described as a ‘small anti-social minority’ typically congregate on benches in the town centre; and are abusive among themselves, and to passers-by, that ‘can seem very threatening and intimidating to staff, visitors and residents’.
