OUTDOOR drinkers who failed to pay on-the-spot fines for boozing in public places have been issued with Criminal Behaviour Orders.
Mariusz Pluta and Lucasz Bednarz failed to pay fixed penalty notices which were issued after both breached the conditions of Rugby town centre’s Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).
Pluta, of no fixed abode, was issued with a £100 fixed penalty notice (FPN) by a council warden on April 21 last year after he was found drinking in the council car park off Railway Terrace and refused to hand over his alcohol.
The following day the 41-year-old was issued with another FPN when he again refused to allow his alcohol after being caught drinking in the Holy Trinity churchyard off Church Street.
Bednarz, of Biart Place, was also issued with an FPN on April 22 for drinking alcohol in the churchyard, and the 32-year-old received another FPN on May 12 after he was found drinking in the grounds of the Percival Guildhouse.
After Pluta and Bednarz both failed to pay, the cases were taken to Nuneaton’s Warwickshire Justice Centre to be heard by magistrates.
But the pair failed to appear at hearings in October and December, and at a hearing on Tuesday February 28 both were found guilty in their absence of breaching the PSPO.
Magistrates fined Pluta and Bednarz £200 each, and ordered both to pay £250 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.
In addition, Pluta and Bednarz now face arrest if found breaching the terms of the town centre PSPO after magistrates granted an application from the council’s barrister to issue the pair with Criminal Behaviour Orders.
The PSPO was introduced by Rugby Borough Council in the summer of 2015 in a bid to crack down on anti-social behaviour caused by drinkers in public spaces such as town centre parks, cemeteries and car parks.
Under the PSPO, council wardens and police officers have the power to issue FPNs to anyone who refuses to abide by the terms of the order – which include consuming alcohol/drugs in a public space and refusing to hand over alcohol/drugs to a warden or officer when asked.
Speaking after the hearing, Coun Lisa Parker, Rugby Borough Council environment and public realm spokeswoman, said: “Anti-social behaviour caused by individuals who habitually drink in public spaces in the town centre causes a great deal of distress to residents, evidence of which was heard by magistrates during the hearing.
“Public Space Protection Orders give councils the power to tackle such problems but we rely on the support of the courts when individuals refuse to pay fixed penalty notices.
“The Criminal Behaviour Orders granted by magistrates in this case mean both men now face arrest if found breaching the conditions of the PSPO, sending a clear message there’s no place for anti-social behaviour in the town centre.”
Visit www.rugby.gov.uk/PSPO for more information.
