Labour says NO to PSPOs

Around 30 members and supporters of Poole Labour Party gathered outside the Civic Centre on 3 January to protest at council plans to criminalise homelessness and rough sleeping, through the use of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).

Several local councils across the country have recently introduced – or consulted on – unfair and overbroad PSPOs. A range of measures have been proposed, including a ban on rough sleeping and “aggressive” and “persistent” begging – "persistent" being defined by the authority as begging “on more than one occasion”.

PSPOs simply fast-track vulnerable people into the criminal justice system - rather than divert them away from it. If someone is forced to beg or spend the bight in a public toilet, that's not a lifestyle choice or anti-social behaviour - that's extreme poverty and the mark of a system that has failed. Local councils, like Poole should focus on finding ways to help the most vulnerable - not criminalise them or give them fines they cannot possibly afford to pay.

A decision on Poole council's plans is expected in the next few weeks.