Don't make life harder for Oxford's rough sleepers

The Issue

So it looks like Oxford City Council has decided that rough sleeping isn’t hard enough as it is.

They are proposing a ban on various 'anti-social activities' in the city centre (by using new 'public spaces protection order' powers, PSPOs). One of the activities Oxford City plan to ban and criminalise is “rough sleeping”.

We at On Your Doorstep believe that the proposed ban is an unacceptable cover up of the huge housing and homelessness crisis that Oxford faces. We feel that this policy glosses over the long term issue of homelessness and are discriminates against Oxford’s rough sleepers. PSPOs were not designed to target groups of vulnerable people. Rough sleeping in itself should not be a crime.

 We are therefore calling on the council to remove rough sleeping from the list of behaviours which they seek to ban.

Criminalising rough sleeping in the city centre will only increase (already high) levels of stigma surrounding Oxford's homeless population. It privileges the appearance of Oxford over its' citizens' wellbeing, and risks treating rough sleepers as a problem to be dealt with, as an inconvenience, as a threat, rather than as individual human beings.

Oxford has done great work supporting homeless people up until this point, we do not want the council to undo this incredible work by introducing this ban. We have seen public pressure stop homelessness from being glossed over in Westminster and in Manchester. We know that if you join us in the fight we can stop this from happening in Oxford as well.

The final decisions will be made in June. We have to show the council, before then, that we do not support their proposal.

Please take a moment to sign this petition. Let’s make sure that Oxford City Council don’t make rough sleeping harder than it already is!

 Note to media: If you would like to contact us please email oydoxford@gmail.com

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On Your Doorstep OxfordPetition Starter
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This petition made change with 71,382 supporters!

The Issue

So it looks like Oxford City Council has decided that rough sleeping isn’t hard enough as it is.

They are proposing a ban on various 'anti-social activities' in the city centre (by using new 'public spaces protection order' powers, PSPOs). One of the activities Oxford City plan to ban and criminalise is “rough sleeping”.

We at On Your Doorstep believe that the proposed ban is an unacceptable cover up of the huge housing and homelessness crisis that Oxford faces. We feel that this policy glosses over the long term issue of homelessness and are discriminates against Oxford’s rough sleepers. PSPOs were not designed to target groups of vulnerable people. Rough sleeping in itself should not be a crime.

 We are therefore calling on the council to remove rough sleeping from the list of behaviours which they seek to ban.

Criminalising rough sleeping in the city centre will only increase (already high) levels of stigma surrounding Oxford's homeless population. It privileges the appearance of Oxford over its' citizens' wellbeing, and risks treating rough sleepers as a problem to be dealt with, as an inconvenience, as a threat, rather than as individual human beings.

Oxford has done great work supporting homeless people up until this point, we do not want the council to undo this incredible work by introducing this ban. We have seen public pressure stop homelessness from being glossed over in Westminster and in Manchester. We know that if you join us in the fight we can stop this from happening in Oxford as well.

The final decisions will be made in June. We have to show the council, before then, that we do not support their proposal.

Please take a moment to sign this petition. Let’s make sure that Oxford City Council don’t make rough sleeping harder than it already is!

 Note to media: If you would like to contact us please email oydoxford@gmail.com

avatar of the starter
On Your Doorstep OxfordPetition Starter
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The Decision Makers

Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council
Responded
“The City Council has been consulting over the past three months on the possible scope of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for the city centre area that would provide new powers to deal with a range of anti-social behaviours and activities. The City Executive Board (CEB) will consider a report on the 11 June which will propose that an Order should be established which would give designated City Council officers and the Police powers to tackle: Persistent and aggressive begging Sleeping in toilets Urinating or defecating in public places Cycling in controlled zones outside the permitted times Busking which is in breach of the council's code of conduct Pedlars who do not observe the council's code of conduct Street drinking in circumstances which endanger public safety Graffiti vandalism Out-of-control dogs Offences can be met with a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice or, if prosecuted through the courts, a £1,000 fine. The PSPO will give the City Council and Police more direct ways of tackling some of these issues for the first time. For example, although the City Council has had a code of conduct for buskers and street pedlars for some years, they are not currently backed by any enforcement measures. The draft proposals to deal with pigeon nuisance and with rough sleepers who have been provided with indoor accommodation but fail to use it have not been included in the recommendations to the CEB. In both case, the consultation process indicated that an Order of this type was not likely to be the most effective way of tackling these issues. Council Leader Bob Price said: "The proposal has been developed by the Council's Anti-Social Behaviour team in response to complaints from city centre traders, residents and visitors about a range of anti-social and nuisance behaviour. "It seeks to provide a clear framework for city centre activities which will maintain the vibrant and active character that we enjoy throughout the year, while dealing with effectively with behaviours that could damage the quality of the city centre experience for shopping, eating and entertainment. "It will provide legal powers for the first time to tackle persistent offenders who cause a nuisance." In relation to the expressions of concern about the potential impact of the consultation proposal in relation to rough sleepers, Councillor Price said that they would not have affected the Council’s policies to support rough sleepers into accommodation. He said: "The draft proposed additional powers to deal with a small number of people who continue to sleep rough in the city centre despite having accommodation. "We have discussed the proposal with our partners in dealing with homelessness and have concluded that there are more effective ways of tackling this problem; that section is not included in the current draft of the PSPO. "Tackling homelessness is and will always remain a top priority for the council - this year alone we will spend almost £1.4m tackling the issue." The proposed PSPO will first be discussed at a Scrutiny Committee meeting on 2 June. Papers for this meeting will be released later this week.”

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Petition created on 29 March 2015