Imagine it. You’re strolling down a busy street, and suddenly you trip over.“F**k!” You shout. But instead of being asked if you’re ok, someone comes along and issues you with a £100 ($120) fine.
Unfortunately this crazy-sounding situation could become a reality in the town of Rochdale, which is considering whether to penalise people for swearing in public for the aforementioned amount.
It’s not the first place to do this. Towns all over the country seem to be tripping over themselves to implement Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO). Others include Guildford, Lancaster, Salford and Worksop.
PSPO legislation was initially designed to protect the public from the anti-social habits of others – things like polluting the atmosphere by unnecessarily loud music; drinking in public; and begging.
However, with the enforcement of a swearing ban, it looks suspiciously like the busybodies have been given permission to police and punish those who dare to breathe.
As a seasoned swearer, I worry a lot about Rochdale’s actions – which could, technically, land people like me in court if I ever visit a town with a PSPO.
As I said, unfortunately Rochdale is far from alone in its enthusiasm for excessive legislation. Some English towns have gone so far as to ban groups of more than two people from gathering. Even though, if this sort of thinking had been around in the 90s, we’d have never had NSYNC.
What’s worrying is the vagueness around PSPOs, which seek to ban ‘foul and abusive language’. Exactly what constitutes that is a very subjective thing. I find it ‘foul’ when people say ‘You know what I mean?’ after every sentence, for instance. Others couldn’t care less. But if we don’t agree on what’s ‘foul and abusive’, how can we level the charge at others?
And, as human rights organisation Liberty argues, it’s dangerous to be so vague. It means street dwellers don’t always know if they’re about to utter something illegal.
Someone could even find themselves in court because they accidentally offended another person’s sensibilities.
Rochdale’s latest move shows the dangers of giving too much power to councils, which all too often like to paint the town red with unnecessary rules.
Officials do this at their own peril. This is not only bad for public life, meaning that people tiptoe around their day-to-day activities, but bad for business too. After all, what shop or bar would want to set up in a place with so many rules and regulations. There are other destinations business owners can go to for that. Like North Korea, perhaps.
The UK is generally has a reputation as a free, relaxed place to live but the creeping emergence of PSPOs threatens it. When people can’t swear or skateboard in the street, you really have to ask yourself what kind of country we live in…
Unfortunately, I fear, it’s f**king England.