MoH, Liberty & Release respond to Haringey PSPO
Museum of Homelessness has teamed up with Release and Liberty to respond to a Haringey Council proposed borough-wide Public Space protection order. Working together over the past few weeks, our organisations highlight a number of issues and make detailed points about our opposition to this proposal. Please read our submission here.
Copies of this were sent to the council to meet yesterday’s deadline and to relevant staff and elected members at the council.
What is the proposal?
Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) are powers used by local authorities that set limits and restrictions on permissible activities and behaviour in a public space. They are primarily used to target perceived ‘anti-social’ beaviour. Haringey Council already have 11 area specific PSPO’s in place and an existing borough wide PSPO related to dog fouling.
Haringey Council’s proposed borough wide PSPO includes wide-ranging prohibitions on the possession and consumption of drugs and alcohol, the possession and use of drugs paraphernalia and any behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, ‘harassment, alarm or distress’. You can find their draft PSPO in full here.
Since their introduction in 2014, PSPOs have regularly been used by local authorities to explicitly target people experiencing homelessness and/or using drugs. As a coalition encompassing local services, drugs policy and human rights expertise, we oppose the proposed PSPO. Introducing this PSPO will give local authority officers and the police a blank cheque to clamp down on the most marginalised communities across Haringey instead of prioritising and investing in the vital services that people need to receive support and stay safe. You can read our full submission here:
Our Feedback - an Executive Summary
Underpinning our submission is our disagreement with the use of anti-social behaviour as a framework for understanding, and responding to, issues of community safety. We note that this concept is racialised and classed, with its responses – notably this proposed PSPO – falling most heavily on marginalised communities, including homeless people, people who use drugs, disabled people and people of colour.
Our full response to the consultation details the following concerns pertaining to prohibitions 1-3 and 5:
The proposed prohibitions on drug use and possession of paraphernalia contradicts harm reduction principles and public health goals by risking increased transmission of infection through shared equipment. Crucially, criminalising possession of paraphernalia through this PSPO deters people from accessing local treatment and support services.
The PSPO will see police and local authority enforcement powers ramped up across the Borough with breach of a PSPO carrying an on the spot fine of up to £100, increasing up to £1,000 and prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court if the person does not pay. The likelihood of escalating criminal punishment as well as the a general increased police presence and threat of enforcement will push people in need of care and support further to the margins.
The PSPO uses vague and broad language throughout, failing to define “reasonable excuse” which will likely give way to confusion and arbitrary enforcement from local Council staff and police.
There’s a general lack of evidence to support the introduction of the PSPO. Section 59 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 states that local authorities must ensure the conditions for implementing a PSPO are met based on robust evidence. Haringey Council have not published any supporting evidence, only outdated feedback and mention of recent workshops without further detail. There has been no consultation with specialist organisations nor publication of an Equality Impact Assessment. The lack of evidence is especially concerning given the PSPO’s extensive provisions and borough-wide application.
We reject the proposed PSPO and urge Haringey Council to adopt different, and more effective strategies to ensure that those who would suffer the greater harm under this proposal are instead supported by their Local Authority.
For further information on our response, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.