From investigating littering to making sure the parks and streets of Grimsby are safe, there is much more to being a Environmental Crime Team Leader for Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) working with the council than meets the eye.
For Callum Neary, 23, no two days are the same. The Environmental Crime Team Leader has been in the role for just over a year, but never knew where the job could take him.
Callum focuses primarily on Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), littering and smoke free offences. North East Lincolnshire Council introduced the PSPOs through the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act in 2014. The act gave local authorities the power to deal with nuisances or problems which harm the local community’s quality of life.
An order is intended to ensure that people can use and enjoy public spaces, living safely from anti-social behaviour. An order will specify an area where activities are taking place that are detrimental to the quality of life of those in the area and can impose conditions and restrictions on people using the specified area.
For littering, Callum and the team have to follow the law set out in the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Breaching a PSPO is a criminal offence, which can result in a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £100 or prosecution. If prosecuted, an individual could be fined up to £1,000. For littering however, offenders are fined £150 ,. If prosecuted, they can be fined up to £2500.
The team work across the whole borough, including the beach as well as the various parks and open spaces. In these locations, The WISE team will monitor littering and the range of PSPO rules including dogs on the beach, fishing controls and no overnight camping.
Elsewhere, like Grimsby town centre, the PSPOs prohibit people from actions like cycling Having a passion for legislation, Callum felt this was an exciting opportunity when looking to change jobs.
“The role looked interesting and encompassed a lot of law and legislation, which is something I enjoy learning about.”
On a daily basis, the team carry out a range of tasks, from enforcing the PSPOs to carrying out investigations, something Callum says is the one thing people may not know about the job.
“Our daily routine is about much more than just walking the streets.” The teams work a range of shifts to ensure there is always staff out and about to raise awareness amongst the public.
There are also times when officers will respond to complaints made by members of the public. This could be in relation to a whole range of infringements including dog fouling, misuse of jet skis or even fishing without a permit.
Whilst Callum enjoys all aspects of the job, there is one element that outweighs all the others. “Seeing the results is the best part of the job for me. When I started, cycling was a major issue in the town centre, but thanks to the team’s work we’ve seen a visible decline in people on bikes.
“People do seem to be appreciating what we do as well, a number of people stop to tell us that we’re doing a good job, which is always nice to hear. We feel like we’re making a real difference now.
“We’re a small team, but we get on really well and are committed to making people feel comfortable in the borough. Personally, I was born and bred here and I want to do all I can to improve the area.”
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