ASBO-style orders used on more than 1,000 occasions in Bedford

Bedford Borough Council used ASBO-style orders aimed at tackling nuisance behaviour on more than 1,000 occasions last year, figures reveal.

​But campaigners the Manifesto Club warn the “busybody” powers threaten people’s freedoms and have called for them to be scrapped.

The council issued 1,083 fines for the violation of Public Spaces Protection Orders in 2019, according to Freedom of Information requests submitted by the group – the third-highest number among the councils that provided figures.

A council can issue PSPOs to ban activities it judges have had, or will have, a “detrimental” effect on the quality of life of people in the area.

The reasons given for the penalties included cycling in a restricted area, and failing to control their dog.

The council also gave out 48 Community Protection Notices in the year to October last year.

The orders can place legal restrictions on people whose behaviour is deemed to have a similar negative effect on a community’s quality of life.

The council said the CPNs were given out for reasons including fly-tipping, fly-posting, rubbish, and nuisance behaviour involving shopping trolleys.

Director of the Manifesto Club, Josie Appleton, said the test for what constitutes detrimental behaviour was “unprecedentedly low” for criminal intervention, and that the powers were hard to appeal.

She added: “These blank-cheque busybody powers are the cause of immense injustice, and a fundamental threat to our freedoms. They should be removed from the statute book.”

The powers were introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

The Home Office issued fresh guidance on their use in 2017, saying particular care should be taken with the use of CPNs on “vulnerable members of society”.

But Ms Appleton said 31 councils had used them to target the homeless.

Cllr Charles Royden, portfolio holder for the environment at Bedford Borough Council, said: "The public have supported our use of powers to prosecute people for crimes such as fly-tipping and people who allow dogs to foul public areas or cycle through pedestrianised areas should not be surprised that we will continue to issue fines in order to ensure that Bedford borough continues to be a safe, clean, and pleasant place to live.”

And the Local Government Association also defended their use as “one of a number of ways councils can tackle persistent anti-social behaviour problems raised by local communities”.