We know, from listening to our residents how important it is for their local area to be clean, free from litter and dog fouling and a pleasant environment in which to live. Despite all of our efforts to keep the area clean and litter-free some individuals continue to drop litter, fail to clean up after their dog or carry out other anti-social behaviour. As a consequence the authority are introducing proactive enforcement to support it in keeping the local environment clean.
There will be no direct cost to the Council. It will be self-financing.
This is not a way for the Council to generate additional income. The scheme aims to be cost neutral. Should any additional money be made it will be put into other environmental initiatives which are deemed appropriate. The priority is to try and stop those people who do not behave responsibly.
No. The company, District Enforcement, provide experienced and professional enforcement officers who work under the direction of Community Services on behalf of the Council.
They are delegated from Pembrokeshire County Council with clearly defined parameters of authority. The officers will enforce all legislation in accordance with the law and in line with the enforcement policy of the local authority.
Yes. All the officers are screened and vetted by DBS in compliance with British Standard 7858:2012.
This is set out in a contract with us and was signed off by both parties prior to any patrol deployment.
No. All of the Officers are paid an hourly rate and do not receive bonuses.
Uniformed Environmental Enforcement Officers from District Enforcement will issue fixed penalty notices for the following:
The decision always lies with Pembrokeshire County Council.
The Environmental Crime Officers are specialists in their field. They receive intensive introductory training and ongoing professional development to maintain the high standards required by us. There is Body Worn Camera footage of every interaction between the Officers and members of the public. Any complaints against the Officers can be made to District Enforcement and are handled in line with established procedures.
Yes. Any complaints against the officers can be made to District Enforcement and will be dealt with in line with established procedures. You should be aware that making a complaint is treated separately to the issue of the FPN and as an offence is alleged you remain liable to prosecution unless you choose to pay the FPN within the time specified.
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.
The following amounts will apply:
There are no formal grounds of appeal against a Fixed Penalty Notice. This is because a Fixed Penalty Notice is an invitation for you to effectively ‘buy off’ your liability to prosecution. This means that while this is not an admission of guilt, you agree that an offence has been committed and that by paying the sum of money specified no further action will be undertaken by the council. This method of dealing with offences not only saves the time involved for everyone (including the offender) in prosecuting cases at court, but the cost associated with a Fixed Penalty Notice is likely to be substantially lower than any fine imposed by the courts. For example, the maximum fine which can be imposed by the courts for littering is £2,500.
If you do not agree that you committed the offence for which you received the Fixed Penalty Notice then the matter will be dealt with through formal prosecution via the courts. It will then be up to the court, on receiving evidence, to determine whether or not an offence was committed and therefore whether or not any penalty should be imposed. Effectively this means that the formal court route becomes the mechanism for those wishing to appeal a Fixed Penalty Notice. It should be noted that the financial penalty imposed by the courts can be significantly more than that which is imposed through a Fixed Penalty Notice.
The local authority is not required to place signs in every street, road, highway, park or open space to tell people not to litter or to inform them that litter patrols are operating in the area. Litter legislation has been in force for many years and littering in many parts of the UK is at such levels that councils across the country are now actively issuing FPNs in order to drive the message home to those who spoil our environment by carelessly discarding their rubbish.
We has run a number of campaigns over recent years targeting littering and dog fouling. The current campaign began in August 2018 with the issuing of a press release, followed by written communication to city, town and community councils, a banner on the website and further press release at the point of launching the initiative. Regular press releases will continue to be issued as the scheme progresses. All press releases have been and will also continue to be released through social media.
It is important to realise that the littering offence relates to the dropping of litter and walking away once you have dropped it. So, whether or not you volunteer to pick up your litter afterwards you have committed an offence will be issued with an FPN.
You will be prosecuted for the offence.
As with signage it is not feasible for the council to put litter bins in every street, road and highway in the County, though of course every effort is made to place bins where they are most needed and where there are the greatest levels of pedestrian footfall, such as in town cents, major shopping areas and Parks and open spaces. Dog waste, once bagged can be placed in any of our litter bins. Where bins are not available then it is up to everyone to act responsibly and make arrangements to either take their litter home or carry it until a litter bin is available.
Wrong. Litter includes not only cigarette butts but also chewing gum. In many ways these items are more of a nuisance and more expensive to clean up than other items of rubbish.
Smokers are responsible for ensuring that they completely extinguish their cigarettes before placing them in the bin. Cigarette waste is the same as any other waste in terms of litter laws and you can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for not disposing of cigarette stubs properly. Obviously, care should be taken to avoid any risk of fire and in particular cigarette ends should be completely extinguished before the stub is thrown into the bin. There is also no reason why smokers (who are well aware that their habit means that they will be faced with disposing of their cigarette waste) cannot carry portable ‘butt bins’ with them or create their own by placing some soil or sand in a small tin.
Litter includes apple cores, banana skins and other food waste that is discarded is littering.
Whilst food waste may be biodegradable it does not biodegrade immediately and not only looks unsightly but can attract vermin, birds etc.
On top of the campaign work we have undertaken through press releases, social media and the website, organisations like Keep Wales Tidy and Keep Britain Tidy do an excellent job in helping to get the anti-littering message across. Of course all the publicity in the world is of no use whatsoever if the message is being ignored. So Pembrokeshire County Council are taking their enforcement duties seriously and are backing up what is a serious and important message with real action. This is the aim of the enforcement patrols which seek to target those who choose to ignore the littering laws which the vast majority abide by.
You can write into District Enforcement to explain your circumstances, this will be reviewed and you may be granted a time extension to pay the Fixed Penalty Notice. All the correspondence details will be on the FPN issued and all correspondence sent by District Enforcement.
Payments are not accepted by instalments but you may be granted an extension.
The Officers will patrol any area of land that is open to public access and will include areas such as town centres and environmental hotspots.
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