In 2017 Derby City Council introduced two Public Space Protection Order’s (PSPOs) to combat anti-social behaviour covering the city centre and a defined outer area. These expired after three years in December 2020 but due to feedback from key partners Derby City Council are now are consulting on a proposal to reintroduce the PSPOs but with a minor variation.
The proposal is to include the following in the 2021 PSPOs:
- Intoxicating substances: No person shall ingest, inhale, inject, smoke or otherwise use intoxicating substances in a public place, excluding alcohol, tobacco or prescription medicines. Intoxicating substances are psychoactive substances with the capacity to stimulate or depress a person’s central nervous system and are referred to as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS).
- Begging: No person shall beg (using either active or passive methods of obtaining alms) or ask members of the public for money in a public place.
- Drinking alcohol: No person shall consume alcohol in a public place (excluding licensed premises) in a manner which causes a nuisance or annoyance to other persons in the locality.
- Urinating or defecating in public: No person shall urinate or defecate in a public place (excluding public toilets).
- Loitering if causing or are likely to cause anti-social behaviour: No person shall loiter in a public place, either as an individual or in a group, if they are causing or likely to cause anti-social behaviour. If asked to disperse by a Police Constable, Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) or an authorised officer of the Council, that person must not return to the public place for a period of 24 hours.
The prohibition of skateboarding has been dropped from the original PSPO’s
Orders can be enforced by a police officer, police community support officer (PCSO) and delegated council officers. A breach of the order is a criminal offence with a fixed penalty notice of up to £100, or a fine of £1,000 on prosecution.
To take part in the consultation visit the Your City Your Say page of the Derby City Council website. https://derbycitycouncil.researchfeedback.net/s.asp?k=160692405689
The deadline for responses is February 28 2021