Police may get extra powers for crackdown on street drinking

At a meeting next Monday, councillors will consider the possibility of introducing a single Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) for Rotherham, at a cost of around £10,000, which would give police extra powers to deal with street drinkers.

DPPOs are made under discretionary powers given to councils by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (CJPA), and give both police and police community support officers the power to confiscate alcohol – including unopened containers – from anyone deemed to be causing “nuisance, annoyance or disorder”.

If they refuse to comply, the individual can then be arrested. At present, such orders are in place in Rotherham town centre and in Wath-upon-Dearne.

This summer, councillors considered bringing in a borough-wide DPPO which would cover the entire authority. However, it was decided that such a drastic move was “not supported” and, instead an “extensive single DPPO is recommended.”

Under Home Office guidance, to be able to legally enforce a DPPO a council needs to be satisfied that the order is “justified in relation to any particular public place”, by reference to past problems of alcohol-related crime or disorder.

The report set to go before Monday’s meeting says that the proposed “single, multi-location order” would cover “selected urban areas, parks, waterways and other identified public spaces.”

It says: “Recorded alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour incidents alone in some of the areas cannot in themselves justify the need for a DPPO.

“The same has been acknowledged in areas where orders are already in place. The experience in these areas is that the public are very strongly in favour of such orders, in that they send out a clear message of the intent of the police, council and partners to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder.”

One all-encompassing DPPO, the report says, would be “less confusing than having a number of individual areas where an order is in force”, and also stops drinkers simply moving from one street to another.

Evidence from South Yorkshire Police suggests that the role of alcohol in crime and disorder in Rotherham “stretches both beyond the town centre and beyond night-time economy violence offences.”

Other “key areas” in the town for alcohol-related problems include Wath, Swinton, Brinsworth, Maltby, East Dene and Rawmarsh.

The report says: “Anecdotally, residents would suggest that street drinking is a ‘youth’ problem, but evidence suggests that our street drinking population varies from young disorderly drinkers through to older street drinkers who congregate at venues within the borough to drink together.

“Action to deal with the harmful effects of alcohol, of which a DPPO is only one element, safeguards children.

“This proposal aims to encourage responsible drinking and reduce disorder.”

Crime figures show that there has been a “significant reduction” in anti-social behaviour in Rotherham in recent years.

In terms of comparison with other areas of South Yorkshire, Rotherham’s anti-social behaviour rate of 88 incidents per 1,000 population is second only to Sheffield, with Barnsley being the lowest at 80 per 1,000 population.

Before any DPPO could be introduced, a consultation would need to take place involving members of the public, the police and licensees.

At present, Calderdale is the only council in Yorkshire to have introduced a borough-wide DPPO. They are, however, in force in many London boroughs, as well as authorities including Burnley, Coventry and Wigan.

Monday’s meeting of the cabinet member for neighbourhoods begins at the Town Hall at 9.15am.