City News' FOI requests have revealed that Tower Hamlets is issuing PSPOs to homeless people in the borough specifically for the 'offence' of homelessness.
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Exclusive data obtained by City News via Freedom of Information requests show that Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) are being used to remove the homeless from public spaces.
PSPO deals with antisocial behaviour, and can mean that individuals are banned from a public space for up to three years.
PSPOs can be put in place to make almost anything in a public space an offence, from wearing a hat in some boroughs to causing an obstruction. It’s up to the council to decide what offences to prosecute.
Between August 2017 and February 2018, 226 PSPOs were issued in Brick Lane. 84 of these were issued to people with no fixed abode, with 15 of those for rough sleeping.
A PSPO often results in a fine and failure to pay can result in prosecution. As a result, homeless people can be criminalised for being homeless.
Tower Hamlets is issuing PSPOs to homeless people in the borough specifically for the ‘offence’ of homelessness.
Josie Appleton, the director of the Manifesto Group told City News that PSPOs are a problematic power, and that new legislation is just catching up to limit how they can be used.
City News has contacted the Tower Hamlets council for comment, but they did not respond.
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HeadlineCity News investigation: PSPO against homeless people in Brick Lane
Short HeadlineFOI data reveals homeless targeted by PSPOs
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Exclusive data obtained by City News via Freedom of Information requests show that Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) are being used to remove the homeless from public spaces.
PSPO deals with antisocial behaviour, and can mean that individuals are banned from a public space for up to three years.
PSPOs can be put in place to make almost anything in a public space an offence, from wearing a hat in some boroughs to causing an obstruction. It’s up to the council to decide what offences to prosecute.
Between August 2017 and February 2018, 226 PSPOs were issued in Brick Lane. 84 of these were issued to people with no fixed abode, with 15 of those for rough sleeping.
A PSPO often results in a fine and failure to pay can result in prosecution. As a result, homeless people can be criminalised for being homeless.
Tower Hamlets is issuing PSPOs to homeless people in the borough specifically for the ‘offence’ of homelessness.
Josie Appleton, the director of the Manifesto Group told City News that PSPOs are a problematic power, and that new legislation is just catching up to limit how they can be used.
City News has contacted the Tower Hamlets council for comment, but they did not respond.
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