Suicidal woman given CPW based on false allegations

Here is a testimony from a woman with significant mental health problems who received a CPW on the basis of false allegations. This shows how councils and police are taking minimal care in their use of CPNs against people with mental health problems, in spite of advice in the guidance that CPNs should not be used against vulnerable groups. It also shows how the CPN can function as a sort of ‘black mark’, encouraging others to target that person with harassment and further allegations. Such CPW interventions worsen neighbour relations, as well as substantially worsen the situation of the CPN recipient. Read…

‘Hate monster’ and ‘hate hubs’ – the legacy of the Scottish Hate Crime Act

The Manifesto Club supported the Free to Disagree campaign against the Scottish Hate Crime Bill – legislation that meant you could be imprisoned for being ‘hateful’ in your own home. Here is a guest post by Stuart Waiton, a Scottish academic who was one of the leading figures in the campaign. It’s difficult to know what to make of the Hate Crime Act in Scotland. It was launched with such stupidity and so many own goals that by the end of the first day of its existence the first minister Humza Yousaf had received more ‘hate’ complaints than any other individual in…

Council forced to scrap ‘cowboy’ cycling fines

Colchester Council has been forced to scrap fines issued to cyclists under its Public Spaces Protection Order, after people were wrongfully fined for actions including cycling on shared-use paths, cycling in cycling areas, and cycling slowly on a pavement to avoid a dangerous roundabout. Colchester’s PSPO prohibits – Using a skateboard, bicycle, scooter, skates, or any other self-propelled wheeled vehicle, including electric scooters in such a manner as to cause or is likely to cause intimidation, harassment, alarm, distress, nuisance, or annoyance to any person. As we noted in our PSPOs report last year, there is a growing trend for councils to…

Imprisoned for feeding the pigeons

We have been in touch with an elderly man who received a series of Community Protection Notices, Civil Injunctions, and now a Criminal Behaviour Order, for the offence of feeding the birds. The gentleman says that feeding the birds has helped him with grief after the loss of his partner, and with alcoholism and mental health issues. This is someone who requires help and sensitive treatment. Yet the council has responded only with criminalisation, issuing a series of legal orders and breach prosecutions, one of which resulted in a 15-week spell in prison. The man says that the council’s actions have left…

Elderly pensioner issued CPN for alleged ‘banging on ceiling’

(Guest post by the Manna Society) An 80-year-old pensioner was served with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) following a complaint by their upstairs neighbour alleging that the pensioner was hitting their ceiling at unsociable hours and disturbing them. On receipt of the CPN, the pensioner brought it to the attention of the Manna Society, a charity running a day centre they were using daily. The pensioner was adamant that they were not responsible for the noise nuisance and could not be responsible due to health issues. The pensioner was absolutely incensed – they had been resident for over 25 years, and up…

Defending freedom in the arts

A letter has been launched defending freedom in the arts, against what it calls ‘a culture of self-censorship and groupthink which are fundamentally damaging to the arts’. Signed by artists, choreographers, composers, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and others, the letter says that: Art schools, galleries, theatres, dance and music stages, and film sets were once platforms that nurtured diverse ideas and contrasting perspectives. Today, many of these institutions actively discriminate against artists and audiences who do not subscribe to their views. This repressive atmosphere has given rise to numerous boycotts and protests. Artists and art workers have become the subjects of cancellations, denunciations,…