Pembrokeshire County Council is to instruct environmental officers tasked with handing out fines for littering not to prolong exchanges with alleged offenders in an effort to avoid future complaints.

Tenby town council recently wrote to PCC stating that concerns had been raised from residents in the town with regard to the way officers who work for the ‘District Enforcement’ company were dealing with members of the public, pointing to one particular incident witnessed by the town clerk and one town councillor where a local shop keeper was seen to be ‘publicly reprimanded’ over the summer after allegedly putting a cigarette out on top of a box on their own property, with one town councillor stating that the confrontation became ‘quite nasty’ in the end.

In Tenby since October 2018 to date, PCC have revealed that of the 763 Fixed Penalty Notices issued during this period, cigarette related litter accounts for over 95 per cent of them.

When discussing the matter at a recent meeting of Tenby town council, members criticised some of the tactics the enforcement officers used after receiving complaints from members of the public who felt that they were being ‘harassed or followed’ with the DEOs some times adopting a heavy-handed approach when dishing out fines.

“Common threads in the discussion were the aggressive tactics employed by these DEOs, the fact that they have been seen to be following members of the public - adults and children alike, smokers claiming to be targeted, accusations of intimidating behaviour, and DEOs not always willing to show their identity badges,” wrote Sharon Thompson, the town council’s assistant clerk in correspondence to PCC, following a recent discussion on the matter.

“Whilst all councillors agreed that litter should not be dropped, the manner in which the public is being dealt with is totally inappropriate.

“Some are claiming they were harassed by the DEOs and their use of threatening and abusive behaviour is totally unacceptable. This is affecting tourist and local residents alike,” she continued.

It has also been suggested by town councillors that clear signage needs to be in place warning of fines and that a better approach would be if DEOs were seen to be educating the public on littering offences, rather than adopting such a harsh approach.

A response from PCC’s ‘waste improvement manager’ Paul Watkins on the subject, came before Tenby councillors at their meeting on Tuesday night.

“The incident in question was as a result of a smoking related incident in which the person alleged to have committed the offence refused, after many requests, to give her details (name/address) to an authorised enforcement officer from District Enforcement,” he said.

“A walk-off (refusal to give details) from a smoking related incident was observed the previous week by a different enforcement officer outside the same shop, with the employee involved in the incident and her colleague.

“There appears to be an increasing frequency of alleged offenders refusing to give their details in the hope that they will avoid receiving a fixed penalty notice (FPN).

“Unfortunately this intransigence prolongs the exchange between the enforcement officer and the alleged offender which consequently attracts other bystanders who frequently offer their "legal advice” to the alleged offender, escalating the situation further and is seen by those not involved, as bullying of the individual.

“Going forward, should an alleged offender refuse to give their details to an enforcement officer after a couple of times of asking, Pembrokeshire County Council has instructed District Enforcement not prolong this exchange in an effort to avoid future complaints but to ensure the individual is clearly captured on their body-cam.

“The council is looking at other means by which individual can be identified to deter further use of this ploy to avoid receiving an FPN. If a person fails to give their name and address when required to do so by an authorised officer, or gives a false or inaccurate name or address, which if taken to court, could result with a maximum fine of £1,000 and a criminal conviction.

“There is often a misconception that officers deliberately follow or spy on someone whilst in reality, they are undertaking a patrol. It is a common complaint made by those issued a FPN that they were followed or spied upon.

“It should be appreciated that the offences which our contractor have been asked to enforce, have to be observed, so, if for example they see someone coming towards the end of smoking a cigarette, eating ? sandwich, etc, is it not perfectly reasonable for the officer to observe what is done with the waste, whether it be a butt or wrapping?

“Smoking-related litter is the most widespread litter found on the streets of Wales, and this has been the case ever since Keep Wales Tidy started undertaking street cleanliness surveys nationwide in 2007/08.

“The surveys show street litter comprises predominantly of cigarette ends and remains the most common type of litter, With a figure of 80.3 per cent recorded for 2017-18.

“This statistic is reflected in number of FPNs issued for cigarette related offences in Pembrokeshire. In Tenby since October 2018 to date, of the 763 FPNs issued during this period, cigarette related litter accounts for over 95 per cent of them.

“Many people do not see dropping ? cigarette butt onto the floor as littering because they believe a cigarette filter is biodegradable where in reality it can take up to 12 years to degrade.

“Particles of cigarette filters have also been found in the stomachs of fish, birds and other marine creatures, who mistake them for food.

“The legislation relating to littering offences does not require the council to place signs on every street, pavement, park etc, to tell people not to drop litter, or clean up their dog faeces, or tell them enforcement officers may be patrolling the area.

“The majority of people know not to drop litter and responsible dog owners clean up after their dog has defecated.

“FPNs are to deter those who don’t abide with these well-known principles and spoil our local environment,” added Mr. Watkins.

Responding to the correspondence, Clr. Mrs. Tracey Evans told her colleagues that she completely disagreed with some of the remarks made in Mr. Watkins’ and the tone of his response.

“The DEOs do follow people around from what I’ve seen,” she said, with her colleague Clr. Mrs. Samantha Skyrme-Blackhall agreeing, and that she had witnessed the officers adopting a far too ‘harsh’ approach in Tenby.

After watching a recent episode of ‘Britain’s Parking Hell’ on TV which featured Tenby, the Mayor, Clr. Tony Brown and Clr. Laurence Blackhall agreed that the DEOs tasked with clamping down on littering could learn a thing or two from the county’s parking enforcement officers.

“This programme showing how parking is tackled in Tenby was an excellent example of officers giving good information out to offenders and how you should respond when an issue arises. That is the right approach and the way forward,” commented Clr. Blackhall.