Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Stronger and Safer Communities considered the report as in April 2021, The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, (MOPAC) as the Police and Crime Commissioner for London, invited London Boroughs to submit a bid to The Home Office Safer Streets Fund Scheme. Haringey Council submitted a bid totalling £301,579 and was selected as the primary bid for London.

As part of the bidding process, the Home Office crime data identified Noel Park Ward (the Ward) as having high rates of burglary and associated acquisitive offending and anti-social behaviour (ASB) per head of population and relative to Ward size. The data indicates increases in these crimes in the Ward over a five year period, with the Ward identified as one of the most significant contributors to burglary and associated acquisitive offending and ASB in London.

A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is an order which is intended to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a defined area which is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life by imposing conditions on the use of that area. The Council wishes to consult on the introduction of such an order.

The PSPO proposed for Noel Park will include the installation of four gates which will restrict unlawful entry/activities.

Page 11 of the report stating the summary of the recommendations described Location Four as being ‘East’ of the High Road and should say ‘West’.

There would be a four-week consultation with residents who would be affected with the gate installations and the residents who lived on the road or on the alleyways would have access to the gate using a key-fob entry system or a keypad entry system. Only those residents with permission to use the alley would be permitted to use the system.

There were no projected costs regarding the maintenance of the system. As part of the contract, there was a two-year maintenance period but any general maintenance would be carried out by the Council.

The consultation would include consideration for residents with mobility issues and there would also be sufficient support for residents with mobility issues. 

The system generally required low levels maintenance but checks would be made with the contractors as to what support would be provided after two years.

The ward councillors would be involved in the early stages of the consultation. A rationale and timeline for installation would also be provided. 

The meeting noted the emphasis that had been placed by residents for such a system to address security concerns.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED 

To approve in principle a formal public consultation in relation to the potential introduction of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in Noel Park Ward. Details of the proposal are contained in Appendix 1 and would include the installation of the four gates at the front of alleyways/ mews. The consultation will commence in accordance with section 72 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, with consultation to run, upon approval, for a minimum period of four weeks.

Reasons for decision 

Over the years, the Council, its partners and key stakeholders have undertaken various measures and activities to tackle the ASB issues that blight residents’ lives. Due to the limited success of various measures and activities undertaken, it is considered by officers that an effective deterrent will be the use of PSPO powers alongside the tools and powers available to the council under the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

The legislation allows for the use of enforcement such as fixed penalty notices and prosecution. It is proposed that, in order to support the legislation, targeted and sustained enforcement will be used from partners including: Wood Green Town Centre Police Team, Haringey Police, British Transport Police, Immigration, ASB Enforcement Team officers and other Council Officers. It must be noted that there will be a financial cost should the authority wish to prosecute any of the perpetrators.

Alternative options considered 

Not to pursue any PSPO. Given community feedback over many years, the volume of burglaries, and the acquisitive crime and ASB being caused in the Ward there are no options that could be considered as an appropriate alternative to deter and manage the use of the identified alleyways which are currently encouraging ongoing criminality and ASB. 

CABINET MEMBER: Cllr Erdal Dogan 

Signed by Cabinet Member ……………………………… 

Date …25 February 2022……………………….