A partnership of Strathclyde Police and City Council environmental enforcement officers has been so successful that it has been extended for another year.
To enable accurate information to be obtained from offenders when issuing a fixed penalty notice for environmental crimes, a Strathclyde Police officer, PC David Duncan, was seconded to the Council for a year in November 2003. Such has been the success of the partnership, the council says, that PC Stuart MacKenzie from Maryhill Police Station started this week, continuing the secondment partnership for a second year. New legislation gave additional powers to councils to deal with issues such as littering, fly tipping, dog fouling, noise pollution and vehicle emissions. Enforcement operations in the past, the council says, were much more successful with the presence of Strathclyde Police so it was decided to formalise the arrangement.
What they say
Convener of the Council’s Environmental Protection Services, Councillor David Stevenson said: “This was the first time we had teamed up with Strathclyde Police to support our enforcement teams as they go about their day-to-day work. David’s presence has been very valuable in not just getting the message across that littering, fly tipping and graffiti cause serious environmental damage, but also when penalties are issued, with getting accurate details from offenders. The fact we were able to secure another officer during his stay with us endorses that. We look forward to working with Stuart to enable us to continue getting the message across about cleaning up the city streets and open spaces."
PC MacKenzie added: “David has forged a strong working partnership between Environmental Protection Services and Strathclyde Police which I look forward to continuing. The environmental problems being tackled not only affect the quality of life for Glaswegians, but problems such as graffiti also generate a fear of crime that we have to address.”
Some background
During the first secondment PC Duncan’s presence meant that officers were protected from serious harassment as well as being able to get enough accurate details to issue penalty tickets. Harassment and incorrect contact information are common problems for Council enforcement officers in local authorities. PC Duncan was famously present at a PR exercise on the fly tipping of 3000 tyres when a white van appeared at the site with material in the back. The driver hadn’t spotted the police uniform in amongst the officials and press present! A second officer, PC Clare McLelland, joined her colleague in June 2004. The agreement with Strathclyde Police involves Glasgow council paying the salaries of the seconded officers.
