Report fly-tipping

Why we enforce against environmental crimes

Sutton Housing Partnership struggled for many years to tackle the issue of environmental crimes.

Offences such as fly-tipping and littering have seen a year-on-year increase. This has caused significant harm to our environment. Also causing more expense to Sutton Housing Partnership.

They will be wearing their navy blue/black uniforms. They wear Halo body cameras and tactical vests. Each officer has Sutton Council identification badges and warrant cards.

Officers are required to have on their persons 2 forms of identification. Their staff card and warrant card both supplied by Sutton Council and include Sutton Council branding. The warrant card remains on display at all times located on the tactical vest chest pocket.

The halo body camera is fitted to their tactical vest. Officers are required to activate their camera when they enter into conversation with an alleged offender. They are instructed to advise the person that the camera is recording for their safety and yours and the camera is required to be switched off at the end of the engagement and any footage downloaded to a main server at the end of the day, ready for review. A circular blue light will intermittently blink as a visual aid that the camera is recording.

Any footage where a fine is issued or possible prosecution may take place is required to be retained as evidence. The site manager will undertake weekly checks to ensure cameras are being used correctly. All data is stored on a shared server for both Kingdom and authorised Council staff to view at any time.

GDPR allows any alleged offender to access the same footage upon request. Footage is automatically deleted after 31 days unless it's needed for evidential purposes. For example, if a fine is issued or a prosecution case is pursued, evidence will be retained until such time as a judgment is made in court.

Environmental enforcement officers are responsible for:

• looking for illegal dumping, littering, graffiti, and other environmental violations
• giving out Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) and Penalty Charge Notices (PCN’s)
• helping and supporting prosecution cases
• teaching the community how to behave responsibly through outreach and targeted communication days
• informing partner agencies of environmental problems
• working out how to deal with environmental threats to protect the local environment

Officers receive CPD accredited environmental enforcement officer training in the classroom before even stepping on site. This training is the first of its kind in the UK and provides every officer with a nationally recognised qualification in environmental enforcement. 

The training consists of various modules, including:

• Health and Safety
• Conflict Management
• Data protection (GDPR)
• Customer Care
• Obstruction Training
• Use of body Camara
• Legislation and governance
• How to issue a fixed penalty notice

When on-site, the site manager will complete a site induction, which includes covering:

• Sutton’s enforcement policy
• contract expectations
• standard operating procedures
• Officer Code of Conduct
• local knowledge. 

The officers then have a week out with the site manager, senior officers and experienced officers. They will be signed off before being allowed to deploy. Officers are paired up, working in the same area to support each other. 

Training is refreshed every 3 months and camera footage is monitored to ensure officer conduct is of the expected level.

Officers may on occasion be required to be assertive when dealing with environmental crimes committed but never rude or aggressive. Officers’ interactions with the public will be regularly reviewed via the body cameras they are equipped with and every officer will be required to undergo extensive customer service training that is refreshed every 3 months.

Officers are not authorised to search personal belongings but may stop individuals if they believe an environmental offence has been committed.

If you feel that any of our officer’s behaviour was unacceptable, write to the address provided on your FPN and your complaint will be investigated. However, this will not influence the outcome of the case if an offence has been committed but will be dealt with separately if there has been a breach of the code of conduct.

Below is an example script provided to officers to help support them in their duties. Officers are not expected to say this word for word but ensure that they cover the main point in any engagement.

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening,

I am officer XXX and I am an Environmental Enforcement Officer working on behalf of Sutton Housing Partnership. Here is my ID and I need to let you know the camera is recording. The reason I am speaking to you is because you have littered your XXX outside XXX. The best place for your litter is in the bins [explain where the bins are] or can be kept with you [for cigarette litter, including stubbing pouches] until you reach a bin. This is a littering offence under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and under section 88 I need to see your ID.
 
Verify the details through the ID and EDA and question any details that do not verify as it is an offence to fail to provide or to provide false/inaccurate details under section 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and can be prosecuted for the original littering offence which is up to £2,500 and a criminal conviction as well as the failing to provide or to providing false/inaccurate details which is up to £1,000 and a criminal conviction. We are trying to offer a chance to discharge your liability of the conviction through a Fixed Penalty Notice, but cannot do this unless you provide the correct details and will have to involve the police.
 
Here is the Fixed Penalty Notice that has been issued to you for the littering offence. The reference number is XXX and the details of the offence are here. The Fixed Penalty Notice is £XXX payable within 14 days, but reduced to £XXX if paid within 10 days. If payment is made this discharges your liability to the offence, but if it remains unpaid after 14 days, you could be prosecuted for the offence in a magistrates court where the fines are up to £2,500 and a criminal conviction. (If the encounter was confrontational in any way) If you have any issues with my conduct, you can go to the website here (detailed at the bottom of the FPN) to make a complaint or challenge the fine. Do you have any further questions?

Littering

Dropping litter is a criminal offence under Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Littering is anti-social and illegal. People caught littering in Sutton can receive an on-the-spot fine called a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £150. If a person is taken to court the fine could be up to £2,500.

If you've received a FPN for littering, you can pay online.

The most common types of street litter are:

• drink cans and cartons 
• crisp and sweet packets
• fast food containers
• cigarette butts
• chewing gum 

There are plenty of bins throughout the borough to dispose of litter. 

Smokers can get rid of their butts in a street litter bin. Care should be taken to make sure that the cigarette has been completely put out to avoid causing a fire by igniting the contents of the bin. Putting it down a drain is still an offence. 

Offering to pick up the litter is not a legal defence to committing the offence. If you are caught by an enforcement officer you should expect to receive a fine.

Spitting

Spitting in public is generally considered illegal in the UK, as it is classified as a form of littering and can result in a fine if caught. Most local councils will enforce it, allowing them to issue fixed penalty notices for spitting in public places. 

Besides legal implications, spitting in public is considered unhygienic and disrespectful behaviour. Spitting and urinating in public are both considered a types of littering and are treated as such.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Fly tipping is the illegal dumping of items including household, industrial, and commercial waste.

Anyone caught flytipping on SHP estates can receive an on-the-spot fine called a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of up to £1,000

Around two-thirds of fly tips are household waste. These are all examples of fly-tipping which you could be fined or prosecuted for:

• a bag of rubbish left on public land
• items left next to full recycling banks
• things like white goods (fridges, freezers), furniture and mattresses dumped on the street or on private land

Fly tipping:

• is expensive to deal with - we spend a huge amount of money every year cleaning up fly tips and we would rather spend that money on frontline public services
• is dangerous to people, animals and the environment
• is ugly - it spoils our towns and devalues the local area
• encourages others to dump more waste
• attracts other anti-social behaviour such as graffiti and vandalism

Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires residents to dispose of household waste in the correct bins. The section also allows waste collection authorities to specify the rules for waste collection.

Section 46 requires that residents must:

• place waste in the correct bin for collection 
• follow the rules for managing their household waste 
• present waste for collection in the specified manner for example presenting the correct waste in the correct place on the correct collection day

Section 46 notice includes:

• instructions on how to store, dispose of, and present waste for collection
• information on what to put in each container
• information on what to do with waste containers between collection days

If a resident doesn't comply with a Section 46 notice they may receive a fixed penalty notice. The resident may be offered assistance and advice to resolve their problems. Household waste collections may be suspended

What a waste collection authority can specify:

• size, construction, and maintenance of the receptacles
• day of collection
• frequency of collection
• waste streams allowed in each type of waste container

It is an offence to leave household or commercial bins on a public highway which can block access. This is under The Deregulation Act 2015 Schedule 12 Section 20.

There is a fixed penalty notice of £60.

We are working hard to make Sutton one of the safest and cleanest parts of the Capital. An important part of this is to make sure that the footpaths are clean and free of obstruction. This is important for:

• blind and partially sighted people
• wheelchair and mobility scooter users
• pushchairs
• those who struggle to negotiate or move objects that are causing an obstruction

All households should put their wheelie bins out for collection at the edge of their property where possible. Where they will not cause an obstruction to pedestrians and road users. Make sure your bins are out at 6 am on your collection day, and they are removed from the highway at the end of your collection day.

Enforcement officers will be patrolling SHP estates and any household found to be leaving their bins on the public highway for extended periods of time before and after their scheduled collection and or using their wheelie bins as a means of reserving parking spaces on the public road may be issued such a fine.

The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 states that it's an offence to not clean up after a dog in public spaces. 

A Fixed Penalty Notice of up to £50 can be issued to anyone who doesn't clean up after their dog. If the case goes to court, the owner could be fined up to £1,000. 

Dog fouling is a health hazard because it can contain bacteria and parasites that can infect humans.

How to prevent dog fouling

Ways to help prevent dog fouling:

• always carry a bag to clean up after your dog.
• dispose of the bag in a litter bin or take it home.
• train your dog to go on their own property. 
• don't let your dog roam the streets without you.