The New Dark Age

24 March 2016 — Manifesto Club

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) – THE FIRST NATIONAL SURVEY: WORSE THAN EXPECTED

We have published the first national survey into the use of PSPO powers[1], which finds that councils have created hundreds of bizarre new criminal offences over the past year.

This includes the crime of standing in a pair in Hillingdon, or in a group of three or more under-16s in Bassetlaw; crimes of selling lucky charms in Blackpool or staying for too long in a toilet in Oxford.

Read the report: PSPOs – A Busybodies’ Charter

The report was widely covered: on the Today Programme, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Daily Mail, Times, Guardian, Evening Standard, Metro, Mirror, as well as local media and legal journals (see here for a full list of media).   We are working with a coalition of groups and individuals to seek to change the law or guidance governing the use of these powers. We are arguing that councils should only be able to ban activities that cause significant public nuisance or harm.

We are planning a national Day of Action in the summer, to highlight the illiberal and absurd new laws that have been introduced in different areas. Do let me know if you would like to be part of this.

And do let us know if there is a PSPO being planned in your area.  

Other campaign news: Oxford Council takes its character-robbing PSPOs down to the river; PSPO for Coventry park criminalises standing in groups; Hackney: history of the defeat of a PSPO.

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CHECKING THE CHECKS – RECLAIMING TRUST

Here are a couple of new cases of unnecessary and burdensome vetting:  

School governors must all be vetted from September this year, even if they are parents of children and have their governor meetings in the evenings. Until now, it has been left to schools’ discretion to decide whether or not to vet governors. We have heard from a school governor who says he will resign when the new law comes in. See our blog on this issue.  

Supporting actors for the main TV companies must be vetted if there is a chance that an under-18 will be on the set at any point. Bizarrely, the TV companies also require checks for actors who are aged 16 and 17. So a 16-year actor would need to be checked to work with other 16-year old actors (as they would with him). See our blog on this issue.  

Note

1. Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act