Bromley Council recruits private firm for dog fouling crackdown (From News Shopper)
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Bromley Council recruits private firm for dog fouling crackdown
10:45am Monday 7th May 2012 in Latest News By David Mills
Damian Cerase has welcomed Bromley Council's acknowledgement of the problem
BROMLEY Council hopes to get tough on littering and dog fouling by hiring a private firm to enforce penalty notices.
Local authority support group XFOR, which also specialises in security and private investigations, will be hired for a six month trial period expected to start in the summer.
Uniformed enforcement officers from the company will issue fines to offenders who drop litter or allow their dogs to defecate in a public place.
From April 2011 to March this year, Bromley Council officers and the Met have handed out 40 penalty notices including 12 for littering and 13 for dog fouling.
The current level of fine is £80, which is reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days.
However under the new scheme with XFOR, there will be no reduction on offer for early payments.
The plans follow a similar two-year trial carried out by Enfield Council in 2009.
XFOR issues around 4,700 fines each year, with 99 per cent of these for cigarette littering.
Officers wear video cameras that record the exchange with the alleged offender.
In January, Damian Cerase, 48, kicked up a stink about persistent dog fouling on a footpath nicknamed "Poo Alley", off Magpie Hall Lane, Bromley.
Mr Cerase welcomed the council's acknowledgement of the problem but said the issue was more about people's attitudes.
He said: "The first thing that springs to mind is how will they enforce it? How's it going to work?
"But I don't blame the council. It's got to the stage that people could not care less. How do you change people's attitudes? It's a difficult one to solve."
Portfolio holder for environment, Councillor Colin Smith said: “The cleanliness of our high streets and shopping parades remains a priority for this administration and this initiative demonstrates our intent to improve the standards further still.
“People have to take responsibility for their own actions and both littering and dog fouling remain completely unacceptable.
“The appointment of the contractor for a trial period will enable us to target the relatively small minority who flagrantly continue to litter our streets or fail to clean up after their dogs.”
Comments(17)
Virtual-Monster
says...
5:43pm Mon 7 May 12
fredwi wrote:Bromley Council's website is clear that disabled people who are unable to clean up after their dogs are exempt from enforcement action.
What About disabled people in wheelchair who cannot pickup their dog mess? what are they supposed to do? Not take their dogs out?
fredwi
says...
6:12pm Mon 7 May 12
plasticfantastic
says...
6:31pm Mon 7 May 12
bizzymum
says...
9:33pm Mon 7 May 12
fredwi wrote:Might it be possible for you to train your dog to use your back garden? Then perhaps a friend or family member could pick it up for you rather than the council.
What About disabled people in wheelchair who cannot pickup their dog mess? what are they supposed to do? Not take their dogs out?
fredwi
says...
11:19pm Mon 7 May 12
Secondly, we all do not have family or friends.
And thirdly, it is clear the person who wrote the above doesn't have a clue what they are talking about. They are probably a 'do gooder' who doesn't have a dog, don't drop litter and think Council's spend their money wisely....what planet are you on?
Karl Childers
says...
12:20am Tue 8 May 12
I like them French fried potaters.
PaulErith
says...
8:45am Tue 8 May 12
fredwi wrote:We're not paying council tax for road sweepers to clear up dog turds. If people chose to have these vile creatures, then they should clean up after them!
This is all very well, but rather than waste money on this company who picks on someone who drops a fag end, money would be better spent on employing more road sweepers to keep our pavements clean and that includes the side roads that haven't seen a road sweeper for decades. What are we paying Council Tax for? So Council's can waste money on other stupid needness things. I am not just talking about Bromley but Greenwich Council as well which is by far the worse.
fredwi
says...
9:22am Tue 8 May 12
ron.1952
says...
11:51am Tue 8 May 12
PS, when you go mind you don't step in dog doo.
Ron
mouthalmighty
says...
11:03pm Tue 8 May 12
The Navigator
says...
6:46pm Wed 9 May 12
jackt303
says...
12:06pm Thu 10 May 12
the wall
says...
3:43pm Thu 10 May 12
mouthalmighty wrote:Even blind people. What about people with no arms.
Ooh. If you have a dog you should clear it up. I am sorry, I don't care how disabled and lonely you are, dog poo is hazardous in all manners of way. It can be life threatening too. No, I do not agree. There should be no exceptions. Period.
PaulErith
says...
5:52pm Thu 10 May 12
fredwi wrote:Totally daft comment! My dislike of dogs or the belief that one should clear up after them does not make me self centered. I have nothing against people having dogs. However, dog mess is hazardous and it's completely out of order not to clean it up.
Well Paul clearly you are not a dog lovery, but some grumpy old git who is totally self centerd
miss sweethuney
says...
10:25am Fri 11 May 12
rachell1807
says...
2:28pm Fri 11 May 12
fredwi says...
5:29pm Mon 7 May 12