A COMMUNITY volunteer is calling for tougher action on people who openly urinate in the street.

Robert Lisowski of Albert Road, Leyton, witnessed a man relieving himself near his home at around 4pm on Sunday (January 22).

But when the 60-year-old who is unemployed reported the matter to police he claims they refused to attend, citing the cost of the visit as a reason.

Mr Lisowski is calling for a system to be put in place whereby council officials or police would do a DNA test to find the culprit.

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He said: “I felt disgusted when I saw this man urinating on the street in the middle of the day and it running down the pavement.

“I think it is unhygienic because there are lots of children living on the street and if a dog licks it he could lick a child’s face and give them a disease.

“The police and the council are always telling us to report anti-social behaviour when we see it but they refused to attend.

“I hear all the time that if police collect DNA it is often linked to other crime scenes and the person can be identified.

“Our street used to be nice 20 years ago but it has changed for the worse. Some people think they can just do what they like and I am fed up with it.”

Mr Lisowski said people also spit and litter on Albert Road and he believes these enviro crimes should be taken more seriously by Waltham Forest Council as they impact on residents’ quality of life.

He said: “I know the police have to respond to 999 calls and they deliver great support but I was very disappointed when they refused to attend.

“However I am more annoyed that the council and the police do not seem to be working together on this issue.

“If the police don’t attend because of the cost then the council should.

“We need undercover environmental officers out on the streets catching people.

“I would like them to take urinating as serious as they do fly-tipping because it is making people angry.”
Cllr Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for environment said: “Urinating in public is absolutely disgusting and is something that we will not tolerate in Waltham Forest. 

“If one of our officers witnesses a person urinating in public they will issue them with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) which carries a spot fine. 

“Similarly if a member of the public or a police officer witnesses this taking place we can issue a FPN, as long as they can identify the person responsible and are happy to provide a witness statement. 

“There is no policy in place to DNA test urine, however we do liaise with the police regularly to ensure we are working collaboratively to combat enviro-crime and other anti-social behaviour.”

A spokesman for Waltham Forest Police said: “A decision was made not to attend as threre was unlikely to be sufficient recoverable evidence due to the nature of the sample to be examined.

“Any such sample recovered from the street could be subject to cross contamination and therefore not evidently sound.”