Fines for car idling and noisy dogs increase five-fold
On-the-spot fines for anti-social behaviour are to increase five-fold under new laws that critics claim will unfairly penalise 'crimes' such as car idling, untidy gardens and noisy dogs.
The Crime and Policing Bill has raised the maximum fines from £100 to £500 as the Government attempts to tackle anti-social behaviour in city and town centres.
The Home Office says that it is part of its zero tolerance approach to behaviour that is 'eroding the quality of people's lives and confidence of local communities'.
It aims to target persistent behaviour such as threats, abuse, harassment, aggressive begging, drunkenness and disorderly conduct.
However, campaigners say the powers have been widened by 'busybody' councils to sanction 'trivial' activities such as dog walkers who do not have their pets on a lead, people loitering in a group of three or more and messy front gardens.
Private enforcement officers in Hillingdon, west London, issued 2,335 penalties for 'idling', which was not previously a punishable offence, 342 for spitting, and 115 for misusing motorised electric vehicles in 2023, according to freedom of information (FoI) requests by the campaign group the Manifesto Club.
'It's a toxic cocktail of extremely broad laws and incentivised officers enforcing them,' said Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club.
'A fine of £500 is unaffordable for most people. The whole point of an on-the-spot fine is that it's a slap on the wrist but £500 is not. It's like half a person's pay cheque.'
Activities in public spaces
The increased fines are being introduced to enforce Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) which allow councils to ban activities in public spaces and Community Protection Orders (CPNs) for anti-social behaviour.
They can be issued for actions that are deemed to have a 'detrimental effect on the quality of life'. Failure to pay the fines can result in prosecution and bigger financial penalties.
They are in addition to Labour's planned new Respect Orders, which give police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public spots such as high streets and local parks. Failure to comply with the orders is a criminal offence.
The Manifesto Club claims that PSPO and CPN fines have increased exponentially, with councils contracting out enforcement to private security companies who take a percentage of any penalty notice income and incentivise their staff with targets.
Data obtained under FoI laws by the group has found 19,000 penalty fines were issued for PSPO breaches and 1,500 for CPNs in 2022/23.
The largest numbers of councils (88) issued PSPO penalties for dog offences, such as entering a no-dog zone or having dogs off leads. This was followed by drinking in public (47), vehicle nuisance (18), urination (18) and anti-social behaviour (15).
Harrow listed its penalties as amplification, feeding the birds, failing to produce a dog fouling bag, drinking, distributing leaflets, obstruction, smoking in a playground, spitting, street trading and table stands.
Punished for untidy garden
Durham council issued the highest number of penalties for CPN breaches, with 468 on-the-spot fines for 'untidy yards and gardens'. This was out of 914 CPNs issued, meaning that more than half of those who received a CPN for an untidy garden were later punished for breach.
Ms Appleton said the Government should ban payment incentive schemes. 'The only reason the fines are so high is because many of them are being issued by people on commission so they will nab anybody they can,' she said.
A Home Office spokesman said: 'Too many town centres are being plagued by anti-social behaviour, eroding the quality of peoples' lives and confidence of local communities.
'Our flagship Crime and Policing Bill is tackling anti-social behaviour head-on to ensure our streets and neighbourhoods are safer. We are absolutely clear that no anti-social behaviour should be dismissed as 'trivial' or 'low level'.
'This includes increasing the upper limit for various types of fixed penalty notices to £500, which will help deter more people from breaching them, and ultimately reduce anti-social behaviour.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Anthony Albanese calls rubber bullet shooting of Australian journalist in LA 'horrific'– video
'That footage was horrific,' prime minister Anthony Albanese said the day after an Australian journalist was shot by a rubber bullet while covering the LA protests. Albanese said the government had already raised the issue with the Trump administration
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mail's shocking 'cash for visas' scam expose shows the UK is an 'immigration free for all', Shadow Justice Minister Robert Jenrick warns
Robert Jenrick demanded Labour end the immigration 'free-for-all' yesterday after the Mail revealed how crooked legal advisers run cash for visas scams. The Shadow Justice Secretary hailed our 'crucial' undercover investigation which exposed how companies are charging up to £22,000 per person to provide 'skilled' jobs in the UK for underqualified foreign workers. Our probe discovered range of brazen tricks being used to dupe the Home Office into providing sponsorship licences enabling convenience stores, barbers, warehouses and bars across the country to bring in overseas labour on false pretences. It is so lucrative that many firms have started up just to profit from hiring foreign staff and then exploit them for cheap labour. Immigration advisers working as fixers for the firms coach immigrants how to lie to officials, overstating their levels of education and experience to secure the visa. Mr Jenrick said: 'This crucial Daily Mail investigation shows our immigration system is a free-for-all. 'Scammers are lining their pockets while the public have yet more low-skilled migration forced upon them. 'It's gone on for decades and the public are sick to death of it.' He called for the adviser exposed by the Mail to face the 'toughest possible punishment.' 'The Government will only bring this farce to an end if they radically reduce numbers to historic levels officials can properly control.' Mr Estibeiro told our undercover reporter that he works with businesses in Bradford, Leicester, Northampton and Peterborough, but only takes payment for his services via third party bank accounts to avoid any paper trail linking the firm to his scam Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle launched an urgent investigation into our probe. She also immediately suspended the sponsorship licence of Leicester-based immigration advice firm Flyover International after the Mail revealed its managing partner tricks the Home Office into believing employers need a certificate of sponsorship to take on overseas workers. Joe Estibeiro told our undercover reporter that he works with businesses in Bradford, Leicester, Northampton and Peterborough, but only takes payment for his services via third party bank accounts to avoid any paper trail linking the firm to his scam. He makes it appear that employers can't find any British residents to fill 'skilled' jobs by first advertising the positions in the UK and only recording interviews with the worst candidates to use as evidence if they are investigated by the Home Office. The overseas workers he recruits officially earn around £3000 a month to meet the government's minimum salary requirements for skilled worker visas. But he described how after the money is paid into their account they have to withdraw all but £900 and secretly hand it back to their boss. Mr Estibeiro even claimed the Government didn't care if companies bring in unqualified staff on skilled worker visas, insisting: 'The Home Office is just interested in the money.' More than 131,000 businesses are now on the Home Office's list for licensed sponsors for the permits which includes market traders, dog groomers – listed as 'canine beauticians' - curtain fitters and even scores of kebab shops. Critics warned the open duplicity could sink Sir Keir Starmer's immigration crackdown which made new restrictions on the skilled worker visas a major part of his aim to end the economy's addiction to cheap overseas labour. Dame Angela said: 'Since taking office there have been 40 per cent fewer visa applications, we have removed nearly 30,000 people with no right to be here and arrests from illegal working raids are up 51%. 'We announced in the Immigration White Paper that backs British workers and ends the economy's addiction to cheap overseas labour. 'And under our new Borders legislation, the Immigration Advice Authority will get new powers to immediately suspend registered advisers and organisations suspected of carrying out the most flagrant abuse of the system, bringing them in line with legal regulators.' A Home Office source claimed when Mr Jenrick was immigration minister he had failed clamp down on the criminal gangs fueling illegal immigration. The source added: 'If he needs reminding what the Labour government has done to tackle this, we've introduced a new law to prevent suspected crooks like the one found by the brilliant journalism in the Daily Mail - so the Immigration Advice Authority will get new powers to immediately suspend registered advisers and organisations.' Flyover International is owned by another man who is understood to be taking the matter seriously and investigating and says that Mr Estibeiro was not officially hired to work in the UK end of the business. Mr Estibeiro denied involvement in any 'illegal or unethical' activity and said he was 'solely involved in student recruitment' and insisted he always told anyone who enquired about Certificates of Sponsorship for skilled worker visas that 'we do not deal with such matters.'
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
Tinkering with smartphone rules won't save our kids – the damage they do means we must BAN them now
Sophie Winkleman, Actress and campaigner Published: Invalid Date, ARE we finally witnessing the tide turning against kids' use of smartphones? Head teachers are now calling for a limit on children's screen time and the government is considering an 'app curfew.' 2 2 The government's Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has said he wants to 'break some of the addictive behaviour' of the online world. Okay B+ for effort Peter but could try harder. 'Some' was your downfall. There's no such thing as temperance when it comes to smartphones. They're unputdownable. A two-hour cap on each app is better than nothing but with Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok being just three of children's favourite brain-melters this is already six hours of social media before they've even got out their homework. The idea of a curfew with a 10pm cut-off point is also a good one but come on, go tougher on the app limits - make it a two-hour total - or, grow a pair and illegalise social media for the Under 16s. None of them would miss it and they might actually meet up with a friend, kick a football around or read a book. The 'nanny state' has a bad rap as a concept, and quite rightly when it comes to adults - let us do what we want please. But when children are malfunctioning this seriously a nanny state is exactly what we need. We parents are doing our best, but we just can't do it alone. Peer pressure is immense. What parent hasn't felt cruel denying their child a phone to 'keep up with friends' and ended up surrendering? 'It was so loud,' ex teacher says banning phones transformed school overnight But smartphones are turning fun-loving and inquisitive children into hollow addicts the minute they get hold of them. The premise that smartphones are 'connecting' our children in a positive fashion is false. Because rather than playing with their friends or family they are alone in the rooms with their phones. The Sun's revelation last week that a Year 6 primary school student received 9,000 messages on Whatsapp over a 15 hour period reveals exactly what we are up against. The stats are truly horrific. More than a million British children per year are referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Services, the vast majority suffering from severe depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders and suicidal behaviour. Conspiracy theories It is not surprising when they are subject to graphic images of real murders, massacres and terrifyingly violent porn, algorithms feeding on their insecurities and sending them more and more damaging content. Children are encouraged to take part in potentially lethal games and challenges, resulting in many accidental deaths. Girls are told that anorexia is empowering then sent starvation tips and 'how to make mum think you've eaten your dinner' pointers. Children are fed conspiracy theories, radicalising their eager young minds, they're connected to gang members in their area, they're groomed, sextorted, preyed on and they're even told how to kill themselves. While government action is welcome, none of the restrictions suggested go nearly far enough. Why can't we get tough like Australia and New Zealand and ban social media for the Under 16s? Why can't we get tough like Australia and New Zealand and ban social media for the Under 16s? Or the 16 US states which have done the same thing? Or France - where all pornography users now have to verify their age using government ID or a credit card. Britain was meant to lead the way in child safety with the Online Safety Act. But Ofcom, responsible for implementing the legislation, is just not as tough as many international regulators. Or why can't we ban smartphones for the Under 16s and come up with a brand new product - a child-appropriate, safe phone with limited app functionality for things like banking and travel, simple calls and texts? Also UK, just STOP IT with the EdTech (educational technology)!!! We don't want our kids drowning in screen time during class and for their homework!! Sure, teach them how to use AI judiciously in senior school but no more of these silly apps masquerading as educational PLEASE. Doctors advise that children up to 17 should not be spending more than 1-2 hours a day on any form of screen. Schools have a responsibility to heed this advice. Not only is too much screen time bad for children's eyesight but it damages their sleep rhythms, their hormones, their spinal health and their attention spans. Bill Gates himself has admitted that 'devices have a lousy record in the classroom'. Steve Jobs didn't let his own kids have iPads. UNESCO found that children who used computers frequently in the classroom did a 'lot worse' academically than their book-based peers. A massive study by educational researcher John Jerrim showed that students who revised for academic tests by reading books and handwriting outperformed their computer-based counterparts twenty times over - the equivalent of six months of extra school!! Sweden has kicked screens out of the classroom, reverting to books, pen and paper. They called EdTech a 'failed experiment' Sweden has kicked screens out of the classroom, reverting to books, pen and paper. They called EdTech a 'failed experiment'. Many Big Tech employees in the US send their children to low or no-tech schools such as the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in California. So why does our government continue to listen to social media and EdTech firms when they argue that their products are good for our children? Where is the clinical evidence? Because few children or parents believe it. I have spoken to countless teens around the country and they all say that they're only on social media 'because everyone else is'. Most would love to be liberated from it all and free to learn, relax, have fun and sleep well. A survey last year found that 77 percent of parents wanted a smartphone ban for under 16s. Saving our youngest, most vulnerable minds from these corrosive devices is a vote-winner. Come on, Peter Kyle. Must do better. Teachers want it, parents want it and children want it. It's time the government wanted it too.
