Have Your Say on Measures to Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour

Local people in South Tyneside are being encouraged to give their views on measures to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Consultation will get underway next week (19 February) on plans to extend the existing Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) for a further three years.

The Orders give local councils and the police additional powers and greater flexibility to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour which is having a detrimental effect on local communities.

The current PSPOs help to deter and tackle problems including the use of motorbikes on public land and drinking alcohol and taking psychoactive substances in a public place.

The PSPOs are recommended across the whole of the borough, with a separate one proposed specifically to address the anti-social behaviour of people fishing at Broad Landing and the Riverside. This would prohibit fishing through the night and behaviour likely to cause nuisance to local people, such as shouting, playing loud music, setting fires, urinating and defecating.

The council plans to extend these orders, which will expire in May, until May 2027.

Cllr Jim Foreman, Lead Member for Housing and Community Safety, said: "We're inviting people to give us their views.

"It's only a small minority of people who engage in anti-social behaviour, but it can have a big impact on communities.

"That's why we'll continue to use all tools at our disposal, including PSPOs to tackle it and ensure everyone feels safe and comfortable where they live."

Anyone who breaches a PSPO risks a £100 fixed penalty notice. Failure to pay may result in criminal proceedings with a maximum penalty of £1,000. They can be enforced by the Police, Police Community Support Officers and any authorised officer of the Council.

The consultation will run until 1 April. For further information and to view the PSPOs currently in force, visit https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/1710/Public-Spaces-Protection-Orders-PSPOs

To give your views, please email PSPOconsultation@southtyneside.gov.uk