Lapsed powers to tackle bad behaviour brought back

Powers for officers to tackle bad behaviour in Derby city centre have been reinstated after they lapsed for six months.

A public spaces protection order (PSPO), which granted officers from the city council or police to issue fines or prosecute people for anti-social behaviour was put in place for three years from January 2022.

But the order - which was targeted at tackling nuisance street drinking, loitering, going to the toilet on the street, begging or taking drugs - lapsed in January and was not brought back into force until June.

Shoppers and businesses have told the BBC they feel more needs to be done to make people feel safe.

The council said it had worked "within the constraints of our resources" to bring back the powers "at the first opportunity".

A spokesperson said: "A thorough process of evidence gathering, data analysis, and a public consultation is required for renewal."

The council said officers still had their "usual enforcement powers" despite their enhanced powers from the PSPO being lost between January and June.

The PSPO returned from 13 June.

Vanessa Jean Anderson, who works at 1717 hair salon on Osmaston Road, said people congregating and drinking was "concerning".

The 37-year-old, from Darley Abbey, said "I feel like the police do try but they could probably try a bit better - more patrols in the town centre, more of a presence, so people feel like they don't gather.

"We do sometimes get people loitering outside the front of the shop and sometimes if you ask them to move on they can be a bit volatile.

"I'd say it's mainly those people that you worry about as a business."

Ami Patel, the manager of Cosmetize shop and salon on East Street, said issues like shoplifters, street drinking and drug taking meant people "don't feel safe" and combined with rising bus fares and parking charges people were avoiding the city centre.

The 44-year-old said: "It's not good. Sometimes we are passing druggies and drunk people and feel scared and unsafe.

"[Officers] need to get rid of those people from the streets."

Support worker Claire Fisher, from California, said she had noticed people were not being moved on earlier this year.

She said: "I work with vulnerable adults who are homeless, so I'm used to dealing with anti-social behaviour, but I feel that it's spilled out into the city centre. It doesn't create a nice ambience.

"In town I do feel that there's a wider problem and it's definitely not 100% not safe for the elderly, not for the vulnerable, not for children.

"I guess there's a lot of city centres that do face the same problems but for me it's a different Derby than the one I grew up in."

But 56-year-old Londoner Nigel Payne, who has lived in Derby for the past 13 years, feels the city is "a nice place".

He said: "Derby is a great place, a lot better than London - it's quiet for me, and the people are a lot more friendly.

"I go out and enjoy myself but I respect other people and I expect the same back."

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