Businesses back clampdown on rough sleepers in trendy parts of Hackney, says council

 
Clampdown: Hackney council is targeting areas including trendy Broadway Market (Picture; Rex)
Rex Features
Robin de Peyer22 May 2015

A London council has defended the introduction of new anti-social behaviour zones which campaigners say effectively "criminalise homelessness".

Hackney council said it was forced to launch the clampdown in some pockets of the borough due to people "defecating in churchyards" and "spitting on passers-by".

Public Space Protection Orders were introduced in areas including trendy Broadway Market, London Fields, Mare Street and along the Regents Canal.

They allow council officers or police to issue £100 fixed penalty notices, or pursue fines of up to £1,000 through the courts.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of homelessness charity Crisis, led criticism of the measure after its introduction this month.

"Any moves to ban and criminalise rough sleeping will be counter-productive and only make it harder for people to access the dedicated support they need to move away from the streets for good," he told the Hackney Citizen newspaper.

But the council said the clampdown was backed by businesses and residents in the areas targeted, and insisted they would only be used as a "last resort".

Hackney's deputy mayor Sophie Linden said: "The council is not setting out to criminalise homelessness; the welfare of every vulnerable person is of highest importance to us. We are trying to tackle persistent anti- social behaviour that is concentrated in specific areas and having an adverse effect on the lives of residents and visitors to the area."

She added: "Enforcement will always be a last resort and only used for those who continue to sleep rough and are part of the persistent anti-social behaviour that affects the safety and wellbeing of our residents."

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