Newcastle

A PSPO is an official measure that is an enforceable part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.  PSPOs can be used to protect the public from behaviour that is having, or is likely to have a detrimental effect on the quality of life in the locality and is persistent and unreasonable.

 

The council already has some specific powers that it enforces.  For example, there are Designated Public Place Orders (DPPO), known as alcohol exclusion zones, which restricts consumption of alcohol only to licenced premises covered by the Licensing Act.  Under the new 2014 Act, the posers of alcohol exclusion zone orders will automatically become a PSPO, but the council needs to review this by September 2017 or the power will lapse.

We could simply keep the PSPO just to enforce the current alcohol prohibition but we see this as a good opportunity to consider what other policies might be introduced to combat additional forms of anti-social behaviour, such as begging etc.

The question of what to include in the PSPO has been explored through talking to people, partners and looking at statistics.  When considering what to include we need to balance things that people want in order to feel safer and happier whilst at the same time not being seen to be stopping people enjoying themselves, or introducing rules and regulations that cannot be enforced.

You can also see all this information as a document: Public Spaces Protection Order Consultation 2016. If you have any questions about this, please contact the Safe Newcastle Unit at: safenewcastleadmin@newcastle.gov.uk. The consultation will close on 8 February 2016. What people have told us will then be considered by the council's Cabinet, and a decision made in spring 2016. You can find out the results on our website: Safe Newcastle.