Which came into play mid april.
'What's that document Liz' I hear you ask. Well to save you reading it (although, be my guest) I'll outline the best bits below.
It's a thrilling read from hackney borough council, outlining what action they are going to take against people doing bad things in public spaces.
In other words it lists activities that are detrimental to the quality of life of Hackney citizens and lists measures imposed to reduce these activities, whilst pointing out that it lawfully goes against article 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act (Freedom of Expression and Freedom to Protest).
Activities listed are:
(i) consuming alcohol
(ii) begging
(iii) rough-sleeping
(iv) loitering
(v) urinating or defecating
(vi)dogs being off leads
(vii) misuse of public toilets
Which I think we can agree some aren't exactly pleasant. Nobody has time for public urination. Now my issue isn't with the activities listed; my issue is with this:
(ii) begging
(iii) rough-sleeping
(iv) loitering
(v) urinating or defecating
(vi)dogs being off leads
(vii) misuse of public toilets
Which I think we can agree some aren't exactly pleasant. Nobody has time for public urination. Now my issue isn't with the activities listed; my issue is with this:
(ii) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
Level 3 is £1000, FYI.
Let's look at that list again and particularly (ii) and (iii), yep you guessed it, our friendly neighbourhood local authority has come up with a plan to fine...........THE HOMELESS!
Nope. Me neither.
This order plays into the sting that surrounds homeless people. That they are criminals. That they chose to be there. That they could have had control of their lives but instead decided to dance with the devil and live a life on the streets.
For most that simply isn't true.
For most it's a case of 'my wife divorced me which put me into a depressions so I lost my job and now I can't pay my rent and my landlord is evicting me in two days and the council can't house me as I'm not a priority'.
For most it's a series of heartbreaking events that lead tot he darkest place a human can go.
Our governments need to realise that this issue cannot be solved by demanding money. A homeless person can't a pay fine, so they go to jail.
So they get a criminal record.
So the slim chance they may have had of getting off the streets and into employment has just been made slimmer.
The cynics or the heartless may say 'So what, they'll be getting food and board at my expense in prison'.
So this is what we've come to. Homeless people have nothing left so they pay with their liberty.
Rule Britannia. Please sign this petition if you agree it's a load of old tosh. To put it nicely.
Level 3 is £1000, FYI.
Let's look at that list again and particularly (ii) and (iii), yep you guessed it, our friendly neighbourhood local authority has come up with a plan to fine...........THE HOMELESS!
Nope. Me neither.
This order plays into the sting that surrounds homeless people. That they are criminals. That they chose to be there. That they could have had control of their lives but instead decided to dance with the devil and live a life on the streets.
For most that simply isn't true.
For most it's a case of 'my wife divorced me which put me into a depressions so I lost my job and now I can't pay my rent and my landlord is evicting me in two days and the council can't house me as I'm not a priority'.
For most it's a series of heartbreaking events that lead tot he darkest place a human can go.
Our governments need to realise that this issue cannot be solved by demanding money. A homeless person can't a pay fine, so they go to jail.
So they get a criminal record.
So the slim chance they may have had of getting off the streets and into employment has just been made slimmer.
The cynics or the heartless may say 'So what, they'll be getting food and board at my expense in prison'.
So this is what we've come to. Homeless people have nothing left so they pay with their liberty.
Rule Britannia. Please sign this petition if you agree it's a load of old tosh. To put it nicely.
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