Public space protection orders in Central Bedfordshire
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police and councils with powers to help tackle anti-social behaviour.
These powers include public space protection orders (PSPO).
View public space protection orders
A PSPO allows us to introduce reasonable exclusions and/or requirements within a certain public area.
For example
- excluding dogs from children’s play areas
- requires all those in charge of a dog to ensure that dog waste is correctly disposed of
- drinking alcohol in a designated area after being told to stop drinking by an authorised officer
- having an unsealed or open container of alcohol following the request to surrender the alcohol/alcohol container by an authorised officer
A PSPO can deal with constant and unnecessary nuisances. As well as anti-social behaviour that has a negative effect on the quality of life for the local community in a particular area.
A PSPO can help to make Central Bedfordshire a great place to live and work.
PSPOs replaced three existing powers in 2017:
- designated public place orders (no drinking zones)
- gating orders (to restrict access to alleyways where anti-social behaviour takes place)
- dog control orders (to place conditions on dog owners/walkers to reduce related nuisance)
We have one PSPO, which covers both dog control and drinking in a public space.
It's an offence to not abide by the restrictions of a PSPO. This can be dealt with by the issue of a fixed penalty notice. Police officers and our officers have the power to issue a fixed penalty notice of up to £100.