Litter and dog fouling enforcement
The blight of littering and dog fouling and anti-social behaviour is a source of great annoyance and frustration to residents and businesses. Tackling environmental crime and anti-social behaviour is critical.
Following a procurement process the council has awarded a contract to Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE), a private enforcement contractor who operates in other areas across the country too.
WISE will employ a uniformed team of Environmental Crime Officers, bolstered by a mobile support team. As part of the mobilisation of the project, the experienced officers in the mobile support team will start the contract in Bradford whilst local people are recruited and trained. They will focus on the areas of highest demand and will patrol wherever there is evidence of littering, such as the city and town centres which are usually hotspot areas, with cigarette butts being the most common litter issue.
They will prioritise the enforcement of litter and dog control offences and breaches of the PSPO in relation to alcohol and intoxicating substances across the district in accordance with the law and in line with Bradford Council’s Enforcement Policy.
WISE Environmental Crime Officers undergo extensive bespoke training, wear body cameras and use handheld technology to issue on the spot fines for offences. They are paid an hourly rate and do not receive bonuses for the number of penalty notices they issue.
Body cameras are used to protect both the public and the Officers from being subject to spurious complaints or intimidation by offenders seeking to avoid paying the penalty issued. The cameras are only switched on at the point the Officer introduces him/herself to the offender and it is explained why the camera is in operation. The camera is turned on during the conversation only, this can then either be served as evidence or unused material dependent upon the prosecution policy of the local authority.
What are Fixed Penalty Notices?
Since the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 became law, new measures have been introduced, enabling local authorities to issue a FPN to anyone they have reason to believe committed an environmental crime that damages the street scene. A FPN gives an alleged offender the opportunity of discharging their liability from being prosecuted by paying the FPN. If an offender is prosecuted the maximum fine for littering can be up to a maximum of £2,500 and may be faced with a conviction.
How much is a Fixed Penalty Notice?
Bradford Council have set the FPN amount at £100 for littering, reduced to £80 if paid within 7 days. It is the same for the Dog Control PSPO (Bradford Metropolitan District Council Composite Public Spaces Protection Order 2024 (Dog Control).
If you refuse to pay the FPN you will be prosecuted for the offence.
Can I appeal a Fixed Penalty Notice?
There are no formal grounds of appeal against the issuance of a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). This is because the FPN is simply an invitation to effectively cease any further proceedings taking place by paying the FPN. This means that while this is not an admission of guilt, you are agreeing that an offence has been committed and that by paying the sum requested for that particular offence, no further action will be undertaken by the council.
This method of dealing with these offences saves the time of all parties involved, it also ensures the offender does not have a fine imposed by the courts.
If you have received a FPN and do not agree that you have committed the offence, then the matter can be escalated through formal prosecution via the Courts. It will be at this point whereby the Court will decide, upon receiving all evidence (such as an Officer’s witness statement), determine whether or not an offence has in fact been committed and therefore whether a penalty should or should not be imposed.
Important points to remember
There will be no warnings, you will be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for dropping litter, cigarette ends, chewing gum or any other type of litter.
You will be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for not cleaning up after your dog.
Take care and pride in your community
- No bin doesn’t mean no FPN
- Not having a bin to hand is not an excuse for littering
- Placing a cigarette end down a drain is still an offence
- Placing rubbish in a stream is an offence and will result in an FPN
- The offence is complete once the item is deposited, and the person walks away.