A petition's been launched to oppose Southampton City Council's plans to introduce public space protection orders (PSPOs) in various areas of the city, claiming the orders “limit the ability of law abiding citizens to execute their rights of free assembly”.
As previously reported, the council has been running a consultation – now closed – on bringing in the controversial orders to five areas of Southampton, including the city centre and Portswood Broadway, where it says begging and street drinking have caused problems.
The council have said PSPOs focus on “improving and protecting the local area for the people of the city and those who visit Southampton”. There appears to be some cross party support for the measures.
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But petitioners say PSPOs are “morally wrong and practically counter-productive”, and they want to “stop the criminalisation of the homeless”.
Southampton homelessness charity The Society of St James has also reportedly opposed the introduction of PSPOs because it thinks “threatening people with legal action is not an appropriate response to dealing with complex social issues”.
Others oppose PSPOs on the grounds of civil liberties because they claim they bring “arbitrary, open-ended powers” to local authorities.
Previously - PSPOs: solving problems or 'criminalising poverty'?