Litter squads make millions: Fines soar as councils enlist ex-soldiers to patrol streets

Covert patrols by former soldiers have seen litter fines soar 90-fold in 15 years.
Dropped bank cards, nut shells and even pens have been enough to warrant on-the-spot fines of £80.
A staggering 63,883 tickets were issued in England last year compared with just 727 back in 1997.
The surge follows ‘payments for penalties’ deals between 15 councils and Xfor, which typically takes £45 from each ticket.

 

Fines: Nearly 64,000 tickets were issued in England last year compared with 727 in 1997 following 'payments for penalties' deals between 15 councils and Xfor. Picture shows the firm's enforcement officers at work in Abertillery, South Wales

 

 

Major offences: Civil liberties group the Manifesto Club has said councils are spending more time investigating and prosecuting people for dropping cigarette butts (right) than for fly-tipping (left)

 

'Booming business': The firm, which is run by former soldiers, pocketed £1.6million in commission last year

Freedom of information requests reveal the firm, which is run by former soldiers, has pocketed £1.6million in commission. It is expected to issue around 40,000 penalties this year.
Councils insist the fines are popular with residents tired of litter-strewn streets. But campaigners say a ‘private police force’ is targeting pedestrians over the most trivial offences.
Patrols have been known to hide in bushes waiting for smokers to drop cigarette butts. One woman in Blaenau Gwent, South Wales, says she was targeted by Xfor for accidentally dropping a cotton thread from her glove.

Another was given a £75 ticket for walking her dog in a field she had used for 30 years. She was not aware it had been turned into a no-dog zone because warning signs had been stolen.
Other people fined up to £80 a time had dropped a match stick, orange peel and a banana skin. In 2010-11, just seven litter fines were issued by Blaenau Gwent council. But when Xfor was contracted on a commission basis in October 2011 that figure shot up to 1,147 within six months.
In the Vale of Glamorgan fines went from 22 in a year to 500 within two months. Wales accounted for 10,000 tickets on top of England’s 63,000.

Litter: Dropped bank cards, nut shells and even pens have been enough to warrant on-the-spot fines of £80. Picture posed by model

And the London council of Bromley saw its £80 fines leap from just four to 618 last year.
Two councils, Birmingham and Blaenau Gwent, pay Xfor by the hour.
Basildon council in Essex has ended its association with the firm after just ten months saying it had lost at least £34,000 when hundreds of offenders failed to pay their fines. The authority promised to give Xfor £45 for every properly issued ticket even if the offender did not pay up.
Research by the Manifesto Club, a civil liberties group, predicted almost half of all litter fines would be issued by Xfor in the coming year.
Josie Appleton, who founded the group, said: ‘It is a booming business. People are not being fined for the most serious offences but for the most trivial. The people who work for Xfor have the power to fine like a private police force but they do not behave in the way a police force would. Many of them are ex-armed forces personnel, when they are on the streets they wear black fleeces and they appear to deliberately blend into the crowd to catch people littering.
‘We have had reports of them hiding in bushes watching a group of people smoking before leaping out to fine people who have dropped butts.
‘Many councils are spending more time investigating and prosecuting people for dropping cigarette butts than for fly-tipping.’
Those who receive fines can take their case to court but risk being fined £2,000 if they lose. John Fassenfelt, who is chairman of the Magistrates’ Association, warned against the use of private firms. ‘Magistrates' court is much more transparent and consistent,’ he said.
Colin Smith, deputy leader of Bromley Council, said the litter scheme was not a money-spinner, adding: ‘It’s a hard line policy. We’re keen to drive the message, residents are sick to death of littering.’

 

Hillingdon council in West London issued 3,048 litter fines last year.

 

Clamping down: Councils have insisted the fines are popular with residents who are tired of litter on their streets

A spokesman said: ‘Our residents told us they wanted us to take a tougher stance on littering in Hillingdon and we responded. The council does not aim to make a profit and the income from penalties received helps to fund the running costs of the scheme.’
Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘Those who harm the environment by shamelessly littering and fly-tipping should be brought to book.
‘But councils shouldn't be using residents as cash cows and shouldn't be persecuting people for petty or insignificant breaches.’
A spokesman for Xfor last night said: ‘We understand concerns raised with regard to alleged incentivising private enforcement services. We offer a menu of payment options.
‘This includes daily rates as well as a percentage of the revenue from each appropriately raised fixed penalty notice.
‘The vast majority of clients choose the second option to maximise cost effectiveness and achieve cost neutrality. The only people affected by our presence are individuals that leave litter.’