Published on Tuesday 16 March 2021
Residents and visitors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are being invited to share their views on street-based anti-social behaviour (ASB) to help with plans to improve community safety. BCP Council will be launching a consultation which outlines proposals for a Public Spaces Protection Order which addresses alcohol related anti-social behaviour on Tuesday 16 March.
The effects of street-based ASB can have a visible impact on the appearance of, and feelings of safety in our local community. Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) are intended to deal with ASB issues in a specific area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life. They are intended to help ensure that the law-abiding majority can use and enjoy public spaces safe from anti-social behaviour.
The public consultation will look at the proposals in dealing with alcohol related ASB in specific areas across the BCP Council area, ensuring a consistent approach is applied where problems persist. The PSPO gives powers to accredited Community Safety Officers and Police to remove alcohol from anyone behaving in an anti-social manner in public spaces. It is not an alcohol ban for public spaces and it does not make it an offence to drink alcohol in the area covered by the Order. However, it is an offence to fail to comply with a request from an officer to cease drinking or surrender alcohol in the area covered by the Order, if the individual is or is likely to cause anti-social behaviour
Councillor May Haines, Portfolio holder for Community Safety, BCP Council said:
"We want to ensure that people visiting, living and working in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole feel safe and that street based anti-social behaviour is addressed robustly. We also need to make sure we take a consistent and balanced approach for the BCP area, 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 areas where there are persistent problems and we will be seeking people’s views through this consultation.
"We’ve seen from the operation of CSAS in our town centres that this approach is effective at addressing harmful behaviours of a few individuals through the combination of support and enforcement, helping those most vulnerable and helping keep our communities safe."
The consultation will run from 16 March to 13 April 2021 and can be viewed here
A full report on the findings and outcomes of the consultation will be presented to BCP Council Cabinet, who will make a decision on the implementation of the changes.