No let up in effort to tackle antisocial behaviour

Ninety seven percent of respondents to a survey run by the office office of Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner said tackling antisocial behaviour (ASB) was either fairly or very important to them.

Because of this Alison Hernandez made ASB a police and crime plan priority, and has been working with police and partners to crack down on it for the past three years.

She said: "I am pleased to say that reports of ASB are reducing across the force area but, with more than 23,000 of reports to the police in the year to November (and many more cases unreported), there is no room for complacency.

"It is always helpful when the Government is pulling in the same direction as police forces and for that reason I was pleased when the Prime Minister launched its ASB Action Plan earlier this year.

"Much of this plan, and the approach taken by my office, is to encourage people to take pride of their communities, work with their neighbours to make communities safer and intervene earlier to divert people away from causing a nuisance with services like the ASB outreach workers I have commissioned.

"But a zero-tolerance approach to the drugs which lie behind so many problems in our society must also be welcomed. It is for that reason I was delighted to see the ban on possession of nitrous oxide come into force.

Now possession of ‘laughing gas’ is illegal with repeat serious users facing up to two years in prison and dealers up to 14 years. 

The ban makes nitrous oxide a Class C drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This means possession of nitrous oxide, where a person intends to wrongfully inhale it for a psychoactive effect – is now an offence. 

Consequences could include an unlimited fine, a visible community punishment, a caution – which would appear on their criminal record – and for repeat serious offenders, a prison sentence.