CPNs

Homeless woman imprisoned for 18 months for trying to sleep in the YMCA

The Manifesto Club has previously published reports by academics at the University of York and Coventry, which found that people are being imprisoned for anodyne actions such as feeding the birds or asking for 50p. These imprisonments were for breach of a Civil Injunction, a power contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. The Civil Injunction will soon be replaced by Respect Orders, currently passing through parliament; it is our view that Respect Orders will make such unjust imprisonments even more likely. One of the most striking cases in these previous reports was that of Ms Reilly, a homeless woman…

CPN case studies

Young deaf man banned from playing loud music

I have received an email from a man whose deaf son was issued with an order banning him from playing ‘loud amplified music’ from his property. The father says: My son lives in a house which we bought for him in 2019, it is a nice neighbourhood mainly made up of older people. My son is 30 years old and is deaf by birth; he wears a cochlear implant, and also has severe anxiety and diagnosed ADHD, both of which he takes medication for. He has received a warning letter and now a Community Protection Notice relating to ‘loud amplified music’, which he…

On-the-spot fines

£500 fine when letter blew out of bin

After the case of a man fined £500 for fly tipping when an envelope blew out of his bin, a similar thing has happened to a lady in Enfield. This case is even worse, however, since the council seems to be partly at fault for the incident. The lady’s bin had been broken – along with her neighbours’ bins – when a car crashed into the front garden in December, and the council failed to replace the bins for several months. In April, a letter that she had placed in her bin was found on the ground by enforcement agents, and she…

Privacy

Parking permit system intrudes on data privacy

This is a guest post by Brian Mooney, about why he is opposing his council’s new parking permit system. My council, Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F), has annoyed residents with its new parking permit system, with swingeing rises of up to 328%. To add insult to injury, the new system is online only. Permit renewal is not as easy as before – you have to enter all your data from scratch. It has also been controversially designed to require the uploading of a scan of a driving licence. The Data Protection Act works to the principle of data minimisation. This exists for good…

PSPOs

Peak District ban on stoves threatens youth outdoor activities

Two Peak District councils have introduced a blanket ban on the use of any ‘naked flame’. We received an email from a local walker, who is concerned that these orders will affect youth outdoor activities such as Duke of Edinburgh (who tend to carry small gas stoves), as well as warm-up stops for youth groups and conservation volunteers, and outdoor training in fire and stove use for children and adults. This is a matter of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is perfectly possible to use camping stoves safely, and this PSPO could have some very perverse unintended consequences. It…

CPN case studies

Pensioner banned from putting gender-critical posters on her front door

This is a testimony from a lady who was subjected to a one-year battle with her council because of posters she had put up on her front door. When the council approved of her posters, it gave her awards; when it disapproved, it issued legal orders against her and prepared to engage in three-day-long trials in order to defend its position. This shows how controversial political opinions can be classified as ‘anti-social behaviour’ and subject to criminal sanction. Facing a massive legal bill, the lady removed a particular poster, but remains unbowed and continues to use her door to promote the issues…

PSPOs • Public space

Birmingham’s draconian plan to ban busking in the city centre

Birmingham Council is planning a Public Spaces Protection Order that will prohibit people from ‘using amplification equipment, musical instruments or other items used as musical instruments’ in the city centre. This will include ‘Noise associated with busking; street entertaining, street preaching and public speaking’. Here is a guest blog post by David Fisher, busker and director of Keep Streets Live. When Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) were introduced in 2014, they came with assurances that they should not be used against buskers who were not causing anti-social behaviour. At the time, buskers were sceptical about whether this advice would be always followed.…

CPN case studies

Woman’s dream of restoring bus ruined by council CPN

In this case, a woman was issued with a legal order banning her from having a bus she was restoring on her drive, because a neighbour claims she could see the top of the bus while she was watching TV. The legal order absorbed the lady’s time and money and prevented her from restoring the bus. This shows how Community Protection Notices (CPNs) can give tremendous authority to complainants, no matter how irrational their complaints. The CPN ruined not only a lady’s business plan – at substantial financial cost – but also ruined her relations with her neighbours, after the council petitioned…

CPN case studies

Police refuse to show evidence against road safety campaigner banned from filming

We have been in touch with a road safety campaigner banned from filming in Ealing (see his case here). We accompanied the man – who tweets from the account @CitizenUddin – to Uxbridge Magistrates Court to appeal his Community Protection Notice. When we arrived in the courtroom the police withdrew the CPN, rather than contest the appeal. This is very telling. @CitizenUddin had asked the police to withdraw the CPN several times before, but they stood by it. But as soon as there was a prospect of a legal appeal, and the scrutiny of a court – even though @CitizenUddin was representing…