Dear Resident,

A man who persistently caused anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Peterborough city centre has been handed a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banning him from the area.

Stephen Unwin, 51, was made subject of the order at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 25 March, but arrested on Monday (31 March) after breaching it three times.

The order was put in place after Unwin, of no fixed address, was found to have persistently breached a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in place in the city centre.

Incidents included begging, being abusive to members of the public, consuming alcohol and refusing to dispose of it, littering, repeatedly swearing at council enforcement officers and making threats of violence towards them, and three assaults on emergency workers – two council enforcement officers and a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO).

The conditions of the CBO state he must not:

PC Tom Maltby, from our city centre neighbourhood policing team (NPT), said: “The city centre is a busy area, and many people have been directly impacted by ASB, some of which is associated with groups of street drinkers. This led to the local authority seeking a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) and employment of Civil Enforcement Officers to enforce the PSPO.

“Unwin has a criminal history spanning 30 years. Throughout this time there have been numerous attempts to divert him from criminality, including bail conditions, court orders, prison sentences and positive engagement from the city centre neighbourhood policing team, all of which have failed to have any impact.”

Unwin was made subject of the five-year CBO on Tuesday last week after he appeared in court charged with three counts of assaulting an emergency worker, breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order and being drunk and disorderly in public, all of which he admitted.

The following day (Wednesday, 26 March) he was seen by council enforcement officers in Midgate, Peterborough city centre, an area he is prohibited from, and was drunk, another breach of his CBO.

He was found in the city centre on two more occasions resulting in his arrest on Monday (31 March).

He appeared at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (1 April) where he was fined £50 after admitting three counts of breaching a CBO. 

Following his court appearance last week, he was also ordered to pay £50 in compensation to three assault victims and complete a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Anyone with information about Unwin breaching his CBO should contact us via our web chat service or online forms. Those without internet access should call 101.

Kind regards,