Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Private Uniformed Officers to Police Litterbugs and Fly-Tippers in Haringey
People who litter in Haringey are to face tougher enforcement action as part of a new trial announced by the Council last week.
During a nine month trial starting on 21st of this month a new team of uniformed officers will patrol the streets handing out fines ranging from £80 to £400 to anyone aged 18 or over who is seen dropping or dumping rubbish or allowing their dogs to foul the streets.
The new regime will include handing out fines to anyone who drops chewing gum or cigarette butts. The officers will wear body cameras with footage used as evidence if required. People under the age of 18 will have their names and address taken for a letter to be issued to their parents.
The uniformed officers will be employed by Kingdom Security. The contract with the company is expected to cost £120,000 per year with the costs covered by money received from penalties issued.
Last year 586 fixed-penalty notices were issued for littering in Haringey. If the same number were to be fined in the coming year, this would generate an income of between £46,000 and almost a £¼M. Of course if detection rates increase significantly, a much higher sum could be expected.
Whilst more attention to littering will be welcome, there are reasons to give a cautious welcome to the new scheme. Kingdom Security claim in their promotional material that the environmental division is "led by experienced experts with police and military backgrounds" and recent press coverage suggests that their powers may sometimes be exercised with too little restraint.
Last year Maidstone Council suspended the operations of Kingdom's entire litter operation after a woman was fined for feeding the ducks. The Kent Messenger reported that the "£80 fixed penalty notice was issued to a woman feeding the ducks in Tovil – because the warden insisted no birds were present at the time."
In another incident a Twitter storm was unleashed when a photographer was arrested by Kingdom Security guards for taking pictures of a Golden Wonder crisps factory. Whilst the exchange is not particularly edifying from either side, the law was on the side of the photographer and the viewpoint of the Kingdom security guard rather indefensible:
The Manifesto Club (which describes itself as campaigning against the hyperregulation of everyday life) conducted a short investigation into Kingdom Security and found that the number of fines issued by the company has increased steeply. In 2011-12, the company issued 18,690 penalty notices on behalf of 13 councils. By 2014-15, that had climbed to 42,529 fines for 16 councils.
The Manifesto Club say that "In most cases, Kingdom Security receives a portion of each fine issued, between £40 and £75 of a £75 fine (on average, the company retains £45). In some cases, councils pay Kingdom Security on an hourly or annual contract basis, but this arrangement comes with ‘projected income’ figures: that is, the arrangement is based on a certain number of fines being issued."
The precise details of the Haringey contract have not been released, but there are some worrying local precedents. In 2014-15 Enfield Council received £221,200 after 6,255 penalty notices were issued by Kingdom – but the company was paid £279,090.
Apparently the vast majority of fines are issued for cigarette butts. However, fines are also being issued by Kingdom Security officers for: spitting, handing out leaflets without a licence and smoking in Taxi or work vehicles.
Whilst Haringey's focus on litter is to be welcomed, it is also to be hoped that they have drawn up a contract designed both to curb any excesses and to ensure value for money.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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I used to work in litter enforcement for a local authority (not a private contractor) and I must say our primary aim was to deter littering. People often asked "how much do you make for this, then?" And the answer was not nearly enough to cover my salary, and the penalty money was ring fenced for prevention work anyway - things like buying pocket ashtrays to hand out. I can't see Kingdom bothering with pocket ashtray giveaways. It seems like a conflict of interest really.
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If you accidentally drop something and then pick it up there's no breach of the law. There needs to be an intention to leave it permanently for it to be littering.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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OMG - not those wierdos. The Manifesto Club founder is a "journalist" called Brendan O'Neill who has written such gems as 'If You Were Abused By Jimmy Savile, Maybe You Should Keep It to Yourself', articles opposing same sex marriage and he maintains that the FA's efforts to drive racism out of football are a form of class war. Perhaps the BBC could have spoken to an organisation not lead by someone whose sole purpose in life is to try to offend people (indeed his collection of essays is called Duty to Offend)
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Most of the littering on the ladder, but not on Green Lanes, is thrown out of cars by through traffic. I haven't caught anyone doing this for a while but I don't start work as early as I used to, builders cutting through early in the morning stopping outside a skip and dumping the contents of their van into it.
If they're going to go for citizens and not businesses, well.... that's more of this being strong against the weak and weak against the strong that Jeremy Corbyn is complaining of.
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I disagree with that. The law is the law and everyone can decide whether or not they comply with it. Break the law and face the consequences.
I've seen a lot of people drop litter - cans, cigarette butts, crisp packets - just before boarding a bus. There are bins at every bus stop so there's no excuse for littering. Even if there's no bin you carried out this far, keep carrying it until you get to a bin.
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Permalink Reply by 1vut8bf3om5m9 on
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Those sorts of people were raised by people who dropped cans, butts, packets, on the ground. There is no way to change poor upbringing except some punitive fines--if at all.
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And public pressure....I regularly challenge people in the street about fly tipping and dropping litter....if everyone did the same, people would eventually feel sufficiently embarrassed and shamed into behaving properly
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Agree. I don't look at crap in the street and try to work out motivation or intent. It's simply crap that you and I pay to get swept up.
By the way, saw one of these guys at work in Wood Green on Saturday asking someone to pick up a wrapper they had dropped (right by a bin of course). The dropper got arsey but the enforcement bloke was calm and firm. When he told him he would have to pay a fine the litterbug said he didn't have the cash so the enforcement bloke whipped out a card reader. A golden moment.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Now that sounds reasonable. Ask the offender to pick up and bin. Only if they refuse, fine them.
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There was another argument for the filtering - "skip rat running".
They could still skip dump with filtering but psychologically the get away seems more limited.
I would hope there is no distinction between citizens and businesses--the fine who they see.
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I know. And the person who was taken to court successfully appealed it.
The point is that the bonus system encourages vexatious enforcement.