First London fine for catcalling dished out after undercover operation

Redbridge Council has become the first local authority in London to issue a fixed penalty notice of £100 to a man for harassing a woman on the street.

The fine of £100 was issued on the 16th of December to a man in Ilford, East London, for sexual harassment using under a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO). The council commissioned a special covert operation in Ilford Town Centre, during which Redbridge Enforcement Officers witnessed a woman being harassed and, with the help of the local Police, detained the suspect.

The PSPO used for the prosecution was 'The Prostitution Related Activity Public Spaces Protection Order', which came into force on 20 August 2021. The PSPO empowers Council Enforcement Officers to fine people soliciting sex or exhibiting verbally abusive behaviour and applies throughout the Borough of Redbridge.

Redbridge said that using this PSPO to challenge and punish street harassment is a precedent that other councils can now use to punish harassment using existing PSPOs.

The man will be made to pay the £100 fine within 28 days or go to court and take the risk of being sentenced to prison. In a separate consequence of the operation, officers also arrested a male for domestic violence-related assault and possessing a weapon. Cllr Jas Athwal, Leader of Redbridge Council and London Councils’ Executive member for Crime and Public Protection, said, “We are the first Council in London using our Public Space Protection Order to enforce against catcalling and harassment. We’re supporting covert police operations in the borough to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Athwal went on to say “This fine is a strong start and will serve as a statement of intent. We will not tolerate harassment of women and girls and will target those men who do not heed this warning. We’re reclaiming our streets for our local communities and ending the culture of misogyny that starts with harassment and escalates to violence.”

There have been increasing calls for tougher legislation to combat behaviour such as catcalling, wolf-whistling and many other forms of street harassment that women face. Parliament has recently backed the Protection From Sex-Based Harassment in Public Bill to make prosecutions for harassment easier for law enforcement agencies.

Councillor Khayer Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Crime, Safety and Community Cohesion, said: “This is a working partnership between Redbridge Council and the Met Police to tackle the on-street harassment of women and girls - a commitment we made as part of our response to the Redbridge Crime Commission. Women and girls have an absolute right to walk our streets without being catcalled and harassed by men and working with the Police, and we are showing zero tolerance.”

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) are used to help tackle anti-social behaviour to ensure public spaces can be enjoyed free from anti-social behaviour. PSPOs are designed to help control behaviour that is either having or is likely to harm a local community's quality of life.

Harry Rodd