Published on Wednesday 09 September 2020
A harmonised approach to address street-based anti-social behaviour (ASB) and improve community safety was agreed by councillors at BCP Council’s Cabinet meeting today.
Councillors agreed today that the current Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that is in place for Poole Town Centre and Holes Bay area was amended so that the following is restricted under the order:
- Drinking alcohol in public, whilst behaving in an anti-social manner
- Possession, supply or use of intoxicating substances
- Behaviour which causes harassment, alarm or distress.
It was also agreed that to ensure the Council’s approach to dealing with ASB was the same across the whole of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, the next step will require a further public consultation on a BCP-wide PSPO.
The Council has successfully taken the approach of support and enforcement to tackle issues in Bournemouth and Boscombe town centres through a Community Safety Accredited Scheme (CSAS) working in partnership with the rough sleeper outreach team and this approach has been extended to cover Poole town centre.
Councillor Vikki Slade, BCP Council Leader, said: "Ensuring that people visiting, living and working in the town centres feel safe and that street based anti-social behaviour is addressed robustly is a priority for the Council. We also need to make sure we take a consistent and balanced approach which is fit for purpose for the whole of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, applying effective solutions to the complex issues around anti-social behaviour. As part of that approach we need to ensure powers under the PSPO can be used across the whole area and we will be seeking people’s views through a further consultation.
"We’ve seen from the operation of CSAS in Bournemouth town centre that this approach is effective at addressing harmful behaviours of a few individuals through the combination of support and enforcement. We want to ensure vulnerable people on the street are accessing the support they need and only if an individual is persistently causing anti-social behaviour will enforcement be used."