Closed petition: Ban ‘payment per fine’ incentives for Anti-Social Behaviour penalties

Closed on 30 October 2025

We urge the Home Office to ban councils from entering into contracts with private companies to enforce Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) that include incentives for the number of fines issued. It was reported that many PSPO penalties were issued by private companies working on commission.

PSPOs were supposed to tackle serious anti-social behaviour, but some councils have brought in orders that prohibit actions such as standing in groups or busking without consent. Unlike Defra, the Home Office has not banned incentivised enforcement. We are calling on the Home Office to produce statutory guidance banning payment per fine incentives and to ensure this guidance can be the basis for appeal of a PSPO penalty in court.