Environmental Crime

Wednesday February 24th 2010, Kingsway Hall Hotel, 09:00 - 16:00

Creating Cleaner, Safer, Greener Neighbourhoods Through Effective Education and Enforcement

“Litter is everyone’s responsibility and these events will get the message out there and help the campaign reach its target of collecting 500,000 bags of litter across England.”

Hilary Benn, Environment Secretary, September 2009

Overview

The amount of litter in the UK has soared by 500 per cent since the 1960s and costs an estimated £500 million per year to clean up. The quality of the local environment – the power, in partnership with others, to shape the place where you live to make it safer, cleaner, more neighbourly and greener - is a key concern for people throughout the UK and, as such, a hot political issue. In the most recent British Crime Survey, respondents named vandalism and property damage as the most serious anti-social behaviour issues in their areas.

The government demonstrated its commitment to working with local authorities and to creating safer, cleaner and more sustainable communities by bringing into law the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. The Act simplifies existing laws and gives local authorities the new powers they have long sought to more quickly and effectively tackle every type of environmental crime from dropping litter, chewing gum and fly-tipping to nuisances caused by noise, fouling by dogs and abandoned vehicles.

While the act has clearly strengthened the enforcement capability of local authorities by allowing them to issue fixed penalty notices to immediately remove or impound abandoned vehicles, which successful strategies have local authorities pursued to engage with their local communities to enforce the Act? Furthermore, what role has technology played in assisting organisations to successfully implement the Act?

Delegates at this forum, will have the opportunity to take the debate beyond the existing legislative framework and have a timely opportunity to address the key issues, and discuss and debate how best to tackle environmental crime at the local level.

Agenda

09:00	Coffee and Registration
09:45	Opening Remarks by Chair Lisa Tompson, Research Fellow, UCL Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London (CONFIRMED)
09:50	Creating Cleaner, Safer, Greener Neighbourhoods Local empowerment and civic pride: using the 2005 Act to reshape our neighbourhoods Engaging with all sections of the community to encourage leadership at all levels of the community Cleaner, brighter, safer neighbourhoods: tackling graffiti, litter, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour Justin Jupp, Group Director, Keep Britain Tidy (CONFIRMED)
10:10	Modernising Enforcement: Adopting an Intelligence Led Approach Developing a multi-agency approach to tackle environmental crime Intelligence sharing – examples of good practice Waste innovation programme John Burns, National Enforcement Service, The Environment Agency (CONFIRMED)
10:30	Making Fly Tippers Pay Traceability = Accountability = Deterrent Proceeds of Crime Act Case History Phil Cleary, Chief Executive, SmartWater Technology Limited (CONFIRMED)
10:50	Questions and Answers Session
11:15	Coffee and Networking
11:35	Effective Environmental Litigation Implementation of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 Improving the machinery of environmental litigation Response to Defra's consultation on Fairer and Better Environmental Enforcement Richard Kimblin, Member, Environment Litigation Working Party, The UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) & Barrister, No 5 Chambers (CONFIRMED)
11:55	Reducing Fly-Tipping in Yorkshire and Humberside Region: Best use of Powers to Tackle Fly Tipping and Controlled Waste Issues Flytipping ruining parts of Yorkshire and Humberside: identifying and assessing the nature and cause of the problem Flytipping ruining parts of Yorkshire and Humberside: identifying and assessing the nature and cause of the problem Building consensus and support: partnership working across and beyond authority boundaries Fly Tipping: Deterring fly tipping from source - Grave to Cradle Prosecution – Building a case for prosecution, case studies, Is court action as effective as it could be, results ? George Lister, Environmental Crime Officer, Wakefield Metropolitan Council (CONFIRMED) Geoff Bell, Principal Legal Officer, Kirklees Council (CONFIRMED)
12:25	Towards Cleaner, Safer and Greener Neighbourhoods The Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act: has it made a difference? Engaging and working with communities to tackle environmental crime What more needs to be done to tackle this issue? Cllr Paul Bettison, Leader, Bracknell Forest Council, Chairman, Improvement Efficiency South East (CONFIRMED)
12:45	Questions and Answers Session
13:00	Lunch and Networking
14:00	Reducing Fly-Tipping in Yorkshire and Humberside Region: Best use of Powers to Tackle Fly Tipping and Controlled Waste Issues Public sector looking for private sector partners to develop affordable working solutions not prototypes Creation of tailored services and not a 'one size fits all' approach Private sector looking to enter into long term partnerships and deliver long term efficiencies Private sector working to help deliver and develop shared services Deliver training and enhance services by building capacity inhouse Private sector delivering quality and efficient rounded services to tackle the environmental crime agenda Gary Lincoln-Hope, CEO, The Xfor Group (CONFIRMED)
14:15	Creating Cleaner, Greener Safer Neighbourhhods in Barking and Dagenham EYESORE gardens – what is the issue? Dealing with eyesore gardens – The approach in Barking & Dagenham The outcomes so far The way forward Peter Tonge, Group Manager for Environmental Services, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (CONFIRMED)
14:35	Coffee and Networking
15:00	Environmental Enforcement – Processes and Practices How Blackburn with Darwen tackled environmental crime resulting in increased prosecutions Aims to improve the environment What Blackburn with Darwen are doing to enforce using FPN’s Building good relations with key partners, working together to maximise powers and crackdown on environmental crime Colin Clark, Principal Environmental Health Officer, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council (CONFIRMED)
15:20	Sentencing Environmental Criminals Assessing the seriousness of environmental offences Sentencing criteria Rupert Holderness, Magistrates' Association Sentencing Policy & Practice Committee (CONFIRMED)
15:40	Questions and Answers Session
16:00	Close

*programme subject to change without notice