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…

Grieving relatives targeted by dog police – and other crackdowns on dog walkers

Although we are still mid-pandemic, it appears that some public authorities are focusing their attention on creating more punitive measures targeting dog walkers. First, Dartmoor National Park is creating a new byelaw that allows dog walkers to be fined £500 if their dog’s behaviour, appearance or even presence causes ‘annoyance’ to anyone. There is no requirement that this annoyance have ‘reasonable grounds’. This means that dog walkers in the park put themselves at risk of a sizable fine, without themselves or their pet having done anything wrong. Meanwhile, councils persist in introducing PSPOs banning dog walking off leads on winter beaches. Dog…

Horsham’s PSPO banning busking, periodicals, and more…

Horsham Council is consulting on a PSPO banning a series of new activities. It already has banned the racing of horse and carts, free running and urban gymnastics, and engaging in ‘nuisance behaviour’. Now the council is planning a further ban on unlicensed busking, ‘selling of periodicals which include a prize draw competition dependent on skill’, nuisance behaviour in carparks (which appears to be targeted at homeless people), and the drinking of alcohol in two public places. You might have thought that the council would have more pressing matters to deal with right now. Even in the midst of a pandemic, some…

Victory for dog walkers in Instow!

North Devon Council has at last listened to dog walkers and members of the public and modified PSPOs banning free exercise of dogs on beaches. Below is a note by Joanne Bell, from the Dog Walkers Alliance, who has campaigned against restrictions for the past few years. Thanks to all those who have engaged with various councils and landowners during this incredible and controversial saga for some 10 years – and more recently to those who took part in North Devon Council’s PSPO Dog Control Consultation. There is now no doubt that North Devon values what our dogs bring to society as…

The return of rule by decree

After the health secretary promised to consult parliament about any national coronavirus restrictions, now there has been a revert to previous type – with the now familiar act of introducing laws as statutory instruments (ideally when parliamentarians are on a break), with laws published a few hours before they come into force. Parliamentarians are then offered the chance to rubber stamp laws that are already in existence and are already being enforced. There is minimal debate – only 3 minutes per speaker – and the regulations cannot be amended or improved, only given a yes/no. This means law being created pristine on…

Covid and the targeting of free social life

Few scenes embodied the current approach to coronavirus more than images of squadrons of police officers patrolling Hyde Park. They marched in groups of more than 20, closely packed together. Every time they came across a loose-knit group of 4 or 5 people they told them that they ‘must go home’, and that it is against the law to gather in groups of more than 2. Police officers’ own gathering – and their moving from person person, arresting people and wrestling them to the ground, then placing them in a packed police van without a mask – was somehow not seen as…

Covid wardens must be held to account

The government’s £300 million Covid warden project is now being rolled out across the country, with councils asked to provide wardens to monitor and enforce social distancing rules. These wardens do not have formal powers, but they are linked into council enforcers and to the police. The government guidance for the Covid warden scheme suggests that councils employ private security guards in this role. Unsurprisingly, reports of heavy-handed conduct are coming in. One Norfolk restaurant owner was invaded by ‘black-booted bouncers’, with an ‘aggressive’ manner, after he offered to give his customers a free Scotch egg and salad with their drinks. According…

The shameful policing of London protests

(A guest post by Nigel Jacklin.) Saturday 28 November was the last weekend in which the UK was under the second national lockdown restrictions. We were in London on business, staying in Kings Cross. When I went to move our car, at around 10.30 on Saturday morning, I noticed that, while the streets were deserted, Kings Cross station was completely surrounded by police in bright yellow jackets. The area was eerily quiet. Police vans of all types were parked all along both sides of Pancras Road and other streets around the station. At around 11.30 one of us went to the shops…

The inhumanity of ‘track and trace’

I received an email from the chairman of 2020 Voice Cancer charity, regarding the treatment of one of his older supporters while on a visit to the seaside. An elderly man, using his mobility scooter, for the reason that he has a terminal cancer which has badly affected his ability to walk, was most grateful to arrive at a waterfront bar. He switched off his scooter, disembarked, with walking stick, and entered: he was desperate to use the toilet which was situated just inside the door and to the left. Having got half way to said toilets he was yelled at by…

Against the ‘rule of 6’ – or 8, or 10…

The prime minister has announced that it will be illegal to meet in groups of more than six people from Monday. Many (including apparently most of the cabinet) have argued that children should be exempt, while others argued for a ceiling of eight people. Yet there is a bigger problem with the state engineering of social life in this manner. Time after time, statutory instruments are issued specifying the exact combinations in which people may meet: two households, or up to 30 people, or support bubbles for single-adult households. It then becomes a criminal offence to go beyond the specifications of the…

Why shouldn’t people sunbathe?

Brockwell Park in London was closed after what Lambeth council called ‘unacceptable behaviour’ by residents at the weekend. The problem, said the council, was ‘sunbathing’, which went against the ‘clear advice’ from the government about the ‘essential reasons’ for which you may leave your home. The sunbathers came in for much flack on social media, where they were called ‘selfish idiots’ (and worse), who are risking lives and killing others. Sunbathers in #BrockwellPark about to get catch! Exercise🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏾‍♀️🏋️‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️ or #StayHomeSaveLives #Lambeth #Brixton pic.twitter.com/W8aZvUNAm7 — Juanne Fuller (@SouthActonGirl) April 4, 2020 But really? As one tweeter pointed out, the 3000 people in Brockwell…

Police should not be allowed to suspend quality of life

There are a worrying number of examples of the police going out of their way to impose needless restrictions upon people, under the guise of the Coronavirus threat. These include – – One man on Facebook reported that police were shouting with megaphones at a couple sitting on a park bench, telling them to move on. They were allowed to walk or run in the park, apparently, but not sit. – Footage of police ordering people off Shepherd’s Bush Green, where they had been lying in scattered pairs or family groups, saying ‘it’s not a holiday, it’s a lockdown’. – Derbyshire Police…