Thirteen Kent councils have today (24 August) written to the Magistrates Association urging ‘greater efforts’ to work together to tackle waste crime, in particular fly-tipping.
The 13 Kent councils that form KRP (the Kent Waste Partnership) are working in partnership to #KeepKentClean with Councillor Nick Kenton, Chairman of the Kent Resource Partnership, saying ‘greater punishment’ needs to be placed on those who commit these crimes.
“Before engaging with the Magistrates Association, Kent councils took forward a mini-review to see what levels of punishment were being handed to fly tippers in Kent over the past year,” he said.
We truly believe to stop fly tipping; greater punishment needs to be placed on those who commit these crimes.
“The results showed there was a clear gap on what maximum levels of punishment could be given compared to the actual punishments.
“We truly believe to stop fly tipping; greater punishment needs to be placed on those who commit these crimes. We hope working together with the Magistrates Association will better equip us to prosecuting fly tippers and keep Kent clean.”
Fly-tipping
The letter sets out the impact fly-tipping is having on the county, pointing to the ‘extremely’ high costs to Kent taxpayers with councils carrying out fly-tipping clearances and taking forward investigations.
The letter also states how councils’ ‘limited resources’ are being diverted from other valuable frontline services such as the homeless community, and how the ‘negative impact’ impacts the on natural environment, with many fly tips ‘blighting countryside and local beauty spots’.
The councils also state that fly-tipping is predominately taken forward by ‘organised crime groups’ who are ‘likely to be using money from fly-tipping activities to fund other criminal activities’.
‘Local differences’
The councils are calling for the Magistrates Association to arrange a virtual meeting to understand how sentencing on fly-tipping is determined in magistrates’ courts and to understand if there are ‘local differences’ councils ought to factor.
The councils also want to establish the gap councils’ need to cover to achieve greater levels of punishment to those fly-tipping offenders, particularly those who are part of organised crime groups.
The KRP (as the Kent Waste Partnership) was formed in 2007 in order to deliver the Kent Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy.
The KRP includes all 12 of Kent’s district/borough councils and Kent County Council.