IMPROVED POLICING FOR EARL'S COURT: PUBLIC SERVICE PROTECTION ORDER (PSPO)
A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) has now been enforced for 3 years in Earl’s Court Ward. This is to tackle the anti-social behaviour and safety raised by the community.
PSPO conditions: Use of illegal drugs or psychoactive substances, littering, street urination or defecation, consumption of alcohol in a public place, loitering and refusing to leave an area, aggressive begging, cycling on a footpath.
Offences and Penalties • Offences under this Order may result in a fine not exceeding £1000. Fixed penalty notices may be issued, offering the option to discharge liability with payment.
Please see link for further information: https://consult.rbkc.gov.uk/communities/pspo-earls-court
What is a PSPO and why does it matter?
A PSPO is used by councils to provide its own Street Enforcement Team and more importantly the police with more powers to deal with specific types of anti-social behaviour with the majority of offences requiring police enforcement.
This pilot for the Borough will give the police more powers and lower the threshold for action on drug-taking, littering, aggressive begging, bicycles/scooters on pavements and loitering.
In other good news, the local police team has now increased with an additional Police Constable (now 3) and we expect some additional PSPO resources in the ward regularly. With a new set of rules governing the ward our MP, Felicity Buchan, is pressing the Borough Commander for the same resources as promised in the Section 80 process. Residents submitted statements during the section 80 process which were used as critical evidence to support the order.
The Council is committed to the PSPO and it is hoped that there will be coordinated action to help generate momentum near the beginning of its implementation as with any pilot initiative. The Council will analyse the impact and evolve the approach with the Police as appropriate.
ECSRA has been concerned about the increasing levels of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Earl’s Court which was highlighted in the ASB Petition which attracted over 1000 signatures (published by The Earl's Court Safer Neighbourhood Team Ward Panel in association with Earl's Court Square Residents' Association and Nevern Square Conservation Area Residents' Association) which was presented to our MP, Felicity Buchan, in 2021.
Earl's Court Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT)
Sergeant Kam Shaheen
PC Amber Clark
PC Brooklyn Ho
PC Ben Hunter
PCSO Danny Wright
RBKC - STREET ENFORCEMENT TEAM (SET)
- A new Street Enforcement Team (SET) has been set up. The team replaces what was previously RBKC’s separate community warden service and waste enforcement teams to form one joined up group of officers who have the skills and powers to enforce against a wider variety of issues, so anti-social behaviour and environmental crime can be tackled more effectively.
- Working right across the borough 26 SET officers will be enforcing to make our streets safer and cleaner. Earl’s Court will have two dedicated SET officers with others able to be rotated, depending on need.
- The role covers a wide range of street enforcement activities, and they link directly with both the Police and other Council departments where necessary.
- Stuart Priestly (Chief Community Safety Officer from RBKC's Community Safety Team) confirmed, an increase in the number of fines issued for problems like waste dumping in certain hotspots around Earl’s Court.
- Any report, whether waste, graffiti or other ASB, etc, that the public submit via the RBKC website will be sent directly to one of the SET officers to pick up and investigate.
ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR (ASB) PETITION 2021
Published by: The Earl's Court Safer Neighbourhood Team Ward Panel in association with Earl's Court Square Residents' Association and Nevern Square Conservation Area Residents' Association:
ECSRA has been very concerned about antisocial behaviour (ASB) for some time and has joined with the Earl’s Court Safer Neighbourhood Team Ward Panel (of which I am a member) to organise a Petition which was presented to our MP, Felicity Buchan, and the Council as ASB and shoplifting are not included in the Met Police statistics for the Earl’s Court area. Therefore, Earl's Court is not treated as a priority by the Met, Earl’s Court SNT Police Team and Kensington and Chelsea Community Safety Team. Yet, these are the very issues that impact on the day-to-day lives of many residents and should be incorporated into the police crime figures so that the level of crime is more accurately reflected.
We would like to stress that this Petition is non-political and we hope it will unite our community with a common aim. The Petition is GDPR compliant and was collated by Professor Michael Hough – who launched the British Crime Survey for the Home Office where he worked for 25 years. He is now based at Brasenose College, Oxford, and has previously lived in Earl’s Court and done surveys for RBKC and Notting Hill Housing. Our aim is to be transparent and above board and ensure all data is safeguarded.
Chrissie Courtney - Chair
Earl's Court Square Residents' Association.
A Gold Standard RA awarded by RBKC
Email: ecsrachair@btinternet.com