Someone fly-tips in England every 30 seconds, which equates to over 107,000 incidents in a month (England 2007/08)
Do you know the difference between littering and fly-tipping?
Fly-tipping, rubbish and abandoned vehicles are closely associated with anti-social behaviour, and can in turn, result in the generation of other crimes.
Neighbourhood Policing is now a fundamental component of addressing community concerns and aims to work with a number of other partners to successfully tackle issues that allow individuals live and work in a safer cleaner environment.
In some areas, littering and fly-tipping have been identified as priorities through Partners and Communities Together (PACT) processes and the police will work with the Environment Agency, Local and District Authorities on addressing the issues of fly-tipping.
The Police has also assisted in tackling persistent offenders by giving advice on anti-social behaviour orders (ASBO's) for fly-tipping offences and Kent Police, as well as other Police Services have assisted in obtaining ASBO's for fly-tipping offenders.
In some areas the Police have extended operations to assist in the clearance of rubbish and the identification of offenders under operations such as CUBIT Plus. This has been achieved by working with partners to effectively deliver an appropriate enforcement response to those committing offences of fly-tipping.
In certain Police services within England and Wales, there are appointed officers that address a number of rural issues including the effects of environmental crime.
Acting Sergeant Andy Small from Kent Police is an example of such an officer and has been involved in the organisation and prosecution of a number of offenders for fly-tipping and has also provided training both to local authorities as well as other police services.
Changes in legislation in the form of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 have increased the penalties for waste crimes, giving the police a power of arrest in certain circumstances. The Police are developing relationships to allow for the legal powers to be used effectively so that everyone can enjoy a cleaner place to live.
Please also visit http://www.cleankent.co.uk/